Meta ordered to pay $567 million for youth mental health care
A New Mexico state court judge, Bryan Biedscheid, ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a fund meant to treat youth mental health problems the state says the company's platforms caused. The order came in a lawsuit New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed against Meta in Santa Fe County court in 2023, alleging that the company's social media services, which include Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, created a public nuisance affecting the state's children.
The case ran in two phases. In Phase 1, a jury trial that concluded in March 2026 found that Meta's platforms do not effectively protect children from exploitation and that the company violated New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act by misleading parents about the safety of its apps; the jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties for that violation. Phase 2 was a bench trial before Judge Biedscheid on the state's separate claim that Meta's conduct amounted to a public nuisance requiring abatement. Biedscheid ruled that Meta "is a cause of and has substantially contributed to a public nuisance in New Mexico and is required to abate that public nuisance," and set the abatement fund at $567 million, on top of the earlier $375 million penalty.
Biedscheid wrote that the trial evidence shows New Mexico is experiencing a youth mental health crisis, with increased rates of suicide and eating disorders among young people, and that the crisis is burdening public and community resources and has overwhelmed the systems meant to address such harms. He attributed part of the problem to Meta's own design choices, writing that the company implemented platform features built to maximize engagement and time spent on its platforms, for all users and for teenage users in particular.
The source does not state how or when the $567 million fund will be disbursed, which treatment programs it will cover, or whether Meta plans to appeal either the abatement order or the earlier civil penalty. For scale, the report notes Meta reported $60.8 billion in revenue and $15.85 billion in net income for the second quarter of 2026.
Key facts
- New Mexico judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered Meta to pay $567 million into an abatement fund for youth mental health treatment, ruling that Meta's platforms caused a "public nuisance."
- The $567 million order adds to $375 million in civil penalties a jury ordered Meta to pay in March 2026, in the same case New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed against the company in 2023.
- The Phase 1 jury found Meta's platforms fail to effectively protect children from exploitation and that Meta misled parents about app safety, violating the state's Unfair Practices Act.
- Biedscheid cited a youth mental health crisis in New Mexico, including rising suicide and eating disorder rates, which he linked to platform features Meta designed to maximize engagement, especially among teenage users.
- Meta reported $60.8 billion in revenue and $15.85 billion in net income for Q2 2026, figures the report cites alongside the judgment.
Why it matters
The ruling treats a social platform's engagement-maximizing design as the cause of a public health harm, not just a private wrong to individual users, and orders the company to fund a remedy for that harm rather than only pay a penalty. Judge Biedscheid's finding that Meta "is a cause of and has substantially contributed to a public nuisance" applies a legal theory more commonly used against polluters or opioid makers to a social media company's product features, which is what makes this a notable precedent for platform liability rather than a routine settlement.
Who it affects
Meta is on the hook for a combined $942 million between the Phase 1 civil penalties and the Phase 2 abatement fund in this one case. New Mexico families and youth mental health services stand to benefit from the fund, though the source does not say how or when it will be distributed. Other state attorneys general pursuing similar public nuisance theories against social media companies gain a decided case to point to.
How to use it
For anyone tracking platform regulation or litigation risk, this is a case to follow through appeal, since the source gives no indication of Meta's response or appeal plans. It is a state court ruling under New Mexico law specifically, tied to the state's Unfair Practices Act and public nuisance doctrine, so its direct legal reach stops at that jurisdiction even as other states watch the outcome.
How solid is it
The account is based on Ars Technica's report of Judge Biedscheid's written order, with several passages quoted directly from the judgment, including the core "public nuisance" finding and the description of the youth mental health crisis. The dollar figures for both the abatement fund and the jury's civil penalties are stated plainly and attributed to the ruling and the trial record.
Risks and caveats
The source does not say whether the $567 million and $375 million figures are final or still subject to appeal, does not give the exact date of Biedscheid's order beyond "yesterday" relative to the report, and includes no statement or response from Meta. How the abatement fund will actually be administered, and which treatment programs it will pay for, is also not addressed.
“Meta is a cause of and has substantially contributed to a public nuisance in New Mexico and is required to abate that public nuisance.”
— Judge Bryan Biedscheid, New Mexico bench trial ruling