⚖️ Meta Fined $567M Over Teen Safety Failures

A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay $567 million after ruling that Facebook and Instagram contributed to harm involving teen users.

Combined with an earlier $375 million civil damages award, the total financial impact now reaches $942 million.

➡️ Teen accounts will face stricter limits
Meta will be required to expand youth protections in New Mexico, including making profiles for users under 18 private by default and limiting adult contact with teens.

➡️ Push notifications will be restricted
For users under 18, Meta must disable push notifications from 10 PM to 7 AM, and also from 8 AM to 3 PM during the school year.

➡️ Like counts will be hidden by default
Teen users will also have like counts hidden automatically, reducing one of the engagement signals regulators believe can contribute to unhealthy usage patterns.

➡️ Usage will be capped
The ruling requires Meta to introduce a mandatory limit of 90 hours per month across Facebook and Instagram for users under 18.

Meta will also have to strengthen age verification and remove accounts belonging to users under 13 if they fail to verify their age within 30 days.

The ruling is especially important because it could become a model for future regulation. Instead of banning social media for teens completely, regulators may increasingly focus on usage limits, notification restrictions, privacy defaults, and stronger age checks.

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