As of August 8, Beijing time, the New Mexico court ordered Meta to deposit an additional $567 million into a public nuisance abatement fund. This amount, combined with the previous civil fine of $375 million, totals $942 million. The recent $567 million is not a new penalty but rather specific funding for measures such as awareness and prevention, screening, and assessment to address issues within New Mexico. The first phase ruling of $375 million was the actual civil fine for violating unfair practices laws. Together, these total $942 million. This decision was signed by Chief District Judge Bryan Biedscheid.
Court Order and Amount
The case involves plaintiff New Mexico against defendant Meta Platforms, Inc., with the case number D-101-CV-2023-02838. The Sixth District Court of the First Judicial District made a final ruling on August 6, which was confirmed by the New Mexico Department of Justice and TechCrunch the following day. The court order stipulates that the five-year abatement period begins at registration; if Meta posts an appeal bond, this period will be suspended but does not imply that an appeal has been filed. The decision itself does not specify whether Meta has or plans to file an appeal. These measures are primarily aimed at users within New Mexico.
According to court findings, Meta's platforms constitute and substantially contribute to public nuisance, negatively impacting children’s mental health, education, interpersonal relationships, and increasing the risk of sexual exploitation. The court also acknowledged that social media has benefits in connecting friends and family and supporting marginalized groups. The abatement fund will be used for specific measures such as awareness and prevention across five areas to address these harms. Meta must take corresponding abatement actions within its contribution scope and report progress every six months to the court. After the five-year period, detection rates need to increase by at least 5%. These obligations primarily target Facebook and Instagram accounts in New Mexico.
Scope of harm and the benefits of social media
The court has ordered Meta to pay and deposit $567 million into a public nuisance abatement fund. This amount will be allocated across five areas: awareness and prevention, screening and assessment, referral and coordination, treatment and implementation, and quality improvement. The specific management and disbursement procedures will be determined by the court in the future through written opinions, hearings, and other scheduling orders; these details have not yet been finalized. These measures are intended to gradually eliminate public nuisances over a five-year period. Expenditure activities from the fund will be paused during the time Meta pays an injunction bond, but the ruling itself does not specify whether an appeal has been filed. The $567 million is not another civil penalty.
The court requires Meta to develop a model for identifying users under 13 years old within two years and to make reasonable maximum efforts to improve age verification mechanisms under COPPA restrictions. Accounts identified as being under 13 must provide proof of age; otherwise, they will be flagged for deletion after 30 days. Additionally, the court orders Meta to submit written reports every six months to state authorities and the court to monitor compliance progress, but specific implementation details still need further clarification. COPPA limits what measures courts can take, so developing the model must comply with relevant regulations. These measures aim to protect minors in New Mexico.
567 Million Dollar Fund Allocation
For accounts under the age of 18 in New Mexico, default settings are set to private or limited to a friend circle; unconnected adults may not send messages to minors and should not be recommended to minor accounts. Meta must manually review front-end reports within 48 hours and address issues related to child sexual exploitation. These measures aim to protect young users in New Mexico from potential harm and inappropriate content while ensuring timely responses to emergencies. There are strict time limits for age verification of users under the age of 13, and those who fail to verify will be marked for deletion. The court ordered Meta to take these specific actions to eliminate public nuisances.
Meta has been directed to impose several restrictions on Facebook and Instagram accounts in New Mexico, including not pushing notifications between 22:00 and 07:00 the next day and from 08:00 to 15:00 on school days during the academic year. Likes for minor accounts are hidden by default, with a monthly usage time limit of 90 hours. Additionally, AI chatbots must not engage in romantic or sexualized interactions with users under the age of 18. These measures apply only to Meta platform users in New Mexico and do not include WhatsApp. The court did not impose a blanket ban on end-to-end encryption, algorithm design, autoplay, or infinite scrolling.
Age Verification and Minors Protection Measures
Meta is required to submit written reports every six months to the court and state authorities, detailing compliance with the ruling. These submissions must be completed by June 30th and December 31st each year, respectively, and will be included in the public case file for review. Additionally, Meta must collaborate with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to increase detection rates of new child sexual abuse material by at least 5% over a five-year period. It is currently unclear whether Meta has appealed or paid the amount stipulated in the ruling, and specific details regarding fund management and implementation timelines have not been confirmed. The court did not appoint a standing monitor for enforcing these measures.
Under the final judgment, Meta was ordered to implement multiple obligations aimed at protecting children over five years and deposit $567 million into a public nuisance abatement fund; this sum is in addition to an initial civil penalty of $375 million, totaling $942 million. The ruling applies exclusively to Facebook and Instagram accounts within New Mexico, excluding the WhatsApp platform. While the court did not impose a blanket ban on end-to-end encryption, algorithm design, or autoplay features, it mandated that Meta take identifiable and measurable steps to ensure the safety and privacy of minor users.