Meta's child-safety failures will cost it another $567 million as total bill reaches almost $1 billion

Meta has been ordered to pay an additional $567 million into an abatement fund for programs in New Mexico related to child safety issues. This decision resolves the second phase of New Mexico's case against Meta, which accused the company of child exploitation and other safety issues. According to Engadget, the total bill for Meta now stands at almost $1 billion.

A judge ruled that Meta's platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, constitute a "public nuisance" and have significantly contributed to the state's youth mental health crisis. The judge likened Meta's platforms to factories, stating that the psychological harm and sexual exploitation of children on those platforms are like pollution that can harm the public's right to reasonably clean air and migrate to the real world.

The ruling does not seek to close down Meta's apps but rather address the existing harms they have already caused. The company had previously been ordered to pay $375 million in civil penalties. WhatsApp was excluded from the case as the court found it did not contribute to the issues at hand, as per TechSpot.

Brief written by urgent.news from TechSpot, Engadget — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — read the original for the full account.