New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $567 million into a child mental health fund | CNN Business

Meta must tighten controls on children’s accounts and pay $567 million into a fund to remedy its role in a youth mental health crisis, a New Mexico judge ordered Thursday, in a ruling that dealt the social media giant another hefty penalty and compared it to polluting factories. The ruling comes as Meta, along with other social media companies, face a reckoning over allegations of harms to children, including multiple lawsuits across the country. A jury in March had already found Meta liable on all counts in a trial on child safety, including willfully engaging in “unfair and deceptive” and “unconscionable” trade practices. That earlier decision addressed concerns from parents, whistleblowers and lawmakers alike. Meta in that ruling was ordered to pay $375 million in damages. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez first sued Meta in 2023. He had claimed Meta created a “breeding ground” for child predators on Facebook and Instagram, which the company denied. Meta said in a statement Thursday that it disagrees with the latest ruling and will appeal. “We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and r