What did the New Mexico jury decide against Meta?

On March 24, 2026, a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million, finding the company violated New Mexico's consumer-protection law by failing to protect children on Facebook and Instagram. It made New Mexico the first state to prevail at trial in a social-media child-safety case against a major technology company. Meta says its apps are safe and that it will appeal.

Is this a class action I can join or claim money from?

No. This is an enforcement lawsuit brought by the State of New Mexico, not a consumer class action. The $375 million penalty goes to the state and the $567 million goes into a state-run youth mental-health fund; there is no consumer claim form and no payment to individuals here. Separate private lawsuits over social-media harms to minors exist, but they are different cases.

Meta Ordered to Pay $942M in NM Child-Safety Case

Q: How much does Meta owe New Mexico in total?

About $942 million. The March 2026 jury set a $375 million civil penalty under the Unfair Practices Act. On August 6, 2026, Judge Bryan Biedscheid found Meta's platforms a public nuisance in New Mexico and ordered a further $567 million into a five-year youth mental-health fund, with roughly $420 million earmarked for treatment services and the rest for prevention, screening and awareness programs. Meta has said it will appeal, so the figures could still change.

Q: What was the key evidence at trial?

During the seven-week trial, New Mexico pointed to internal Meta communications, including discussion of how making Messenger end-to-end encrypted by default could affect the company's ability to detect and report child sexual abuse material to law enforcement. Meta disputes the state's characterization of that evidence and maintains its apps are safe for young users.

Published July 6, 2026

Updated September 22, 2026

New Mexico was the first state to beat Meta at a child-safety trial, and the bill has now reached $942 million: a $375 million jury penalty in March, then a $567 million court order in August for a youth mental-health fund and five years of product changes. None of it is money for individual users, and Meta says it will appeal.

A New Mexico jury found Meta violated state consumer-protection law, and a judge then found its platforms a public nuisance and ordered $567 million more plus product changes for minors.

By Steve Levine

Editor-in-Chief

What Happened?

New Mexico's case against Meta has now produced two separate orders. On March 24, 2026, a jury in the state's First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe found Meta liable under the Unfair Practices Act and set the civil penalty at $375 million. On August 6, 2026, Judge Bryan Biedscheid decided the second, non-jury phase of the case: he found that Facebook and Instagram are a public nuisance in New Mexico, ordered Meta to pay a further $567 million into a five-year youth mental-health fund, and imposed a list of product changes for minors that runs for five years under court supervision. Together the two orders come to about $942 million. Meta has said it will appeal.

The first phase was a jury trial. On March 24, 2026, the jury in New Mexico's First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding the company liable under the state's Unfair Practices Act for misleading the public about the safety of Facebook and Instagram and failing to protect children. The $375 million reflects the maximum civil penalty of $5,000 per violation. With the verdict, New Mexico became the first state to prevail at trial in the growing wave of litigation accusing major technology companies of endangering young users.

The case, State of New Mexico v. Meta Platforms, Inc., was filed in 2023 by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez as a government enforcement action — not a private class action — and it went the distance: after a roughly seven-week trial, the jury sided with the state on both of the state's claims. Meta has said its apps are safe for young people and that it intends to appeal. The state's public-nuisance claim was reserved for the judge, and that is the phase decided in August.

Total Ordered $942 million against Meta $375 million jury penalty (March 24, 2026) + $567 million abatement fund and product changes (August 6, 2026) · State of New Mexico v. Meta Platforms · First Judicial District Court, Santa Fe

Finding Unfair Practices Act violations (jury) and a public nuisance (judge) on Facebook & Instagram First state to win a social-media child-safety case at trial · five years of court-supervised product changes for minors in New Mexico

Can I Claim? No — this is a state enforcement case Not a consumer class action · the money goes to the state and a state-run youth mental-health fund · no claim form for individuals · Meta says it will appeal

Why This Verdict Is a Landmark

State attorneys general and private plaintiffs have filed a wave of cases arguing that social-media platforms are designed in ways that harm children — through addictive engagement mechanics, exposure to harmful content, and inadequate safeguards. Most of those cases have been fought over motions and settlements; very few have reached a jury. New Mexico's win makes it the first state to take such a case to trial and prevail, which is why the outcome is being watched closely by other states, plaintiffs, and the companies themselves.

A verdict like this can shape leverage well beyond a single state. It signals to other attorneys general that a jury is willing to hold a platform accountable under consumer-protection law, and it can influence how similar cases are valued in settlement talks. Other states are already pressing the theory against newer technology — Florida's Attorney General, for instance, has sued OpenAI over ChatGPT's alleged risks to children under its consumer-protection statute.

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The Evidence at Trial

During the trial, New Mexico pointed to internal Meta communications to argue the company understood the risks to children and did not do enough. Among the material discussed were internal messages about how a plan to make Messenger end-to-end encrypted by default could affect the company's ability to detect and report child sexual abuse material to law enforcement. New Mexico argued this reflected a company weighing product decisions against child-safety obligations; Meta disputes that characterization and maintains its apps are safe and that it invests heavily in protecting young users. These competing interpretations are part of what an appeal may revisit.

The August 6 Ruling: $567 Million and Five Years of Product Changes

The jury phase decided liability and penalties. The second phase, tried to the judge, decided New Mexico's public-nuisance claim and the state's request for forward-looking remedies. On August 6, 2026, Judge Biedscheid issued his findings and final judgment. He found that New Mexico's teenagers are in a mental-health crisis and that Meta's platforms were a significant contributing cause of it, and he rejected Meta's argument that Section 230 shields the company from liability for how it designed its own products.

The money side is a $567 million abatement fund, paid over five years. Roughly $420 million of it is directed to treatment services for young people in New Mexico, with the remainder going to prevention, screening and awareness programs. That is on top of the $375 million civil penalty from March, which is why the state now describes the judgment as $942 million.

The product side may matter more in the long run. For users in New Mexico under 18, the court ordered Meta to pause push notifications overnight and during school hours, to hide like counts unless a parent or guardian approves, and to cap monthly use. The order also requires stronger age assurance, including proactively asking for proof of age from users Meta knows or estimates to be under 13. The reforms are in effect for five years and are subject to court oversight. Many of them overlap with the terms Meta later agreed to in its $17.1 billion settlement with the other state attorneys general in late August, but New Mexico's terms are court-ordered rather than negotiated, and New Mexico is not part of that settlement.

What Comes Next

Neither figure is final. Meta has said it will appeal, and judgments of this size are routinely the subject of post-trial motions and appellate review that can reduce, reverse, or otherwise alter the outcome. The product-change order in particular gives Meta an incentive to appeal quickly, since compliance is measured in years rather than dollars.

New Mexico is now one of two states still litigating against Meta on its own. The other is Florida, which declined its share of the multistate settlement and says it will take Meta to trial. OCA's coverage of the 29-state federal trial in Oakland explains how that case ended mid-trial in the settlement.

What It Means for Consumers

It is important to be clear about what this case is and isn't for everyday users. Because this is a state enforcement action, there is no consumer claim form and no payment to individuals. The $375 million penalty goes to the state, and the $567 million goes into a fund for treatment and prevention programs in New Mexico. If you are a parent concerned about a child's experience on social media, this judgment does not create a payment for you, although the product changes will apply to minors' accounts in the state once they take effect.

Separately, there is a large body of private litigation over social-media harms to minors — including the consolidated social media addiction lawsuits and Instagram addiction claims for minors — which are different cases with their own procedures. OCA has also covered the broader social-media verdict landscape and what it may mean for future lawsuits and settlements.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the jury decide?

On March 24, 2026, a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million, finding it violated state consumer-protection law by failing to protect children on Facebook and Instagram. Meta says it will appeal.

How much does Meta owe New Mexico in total?

About $942 million. On August 6, 2026, Judge Bryan Biedscheid found Meta's platforms a public nuisance in New Mexico and ordered a further $567 million into a five-year youth mental-health fund, roughly $420 million of it for treatment services, on top of the jury's $375 million penalty. Meta says it will appeal.

What product changes did the court order?

For New Mexico users under 18: push notifications paused overnight and during school hours, like counts hidden unless a parent or guardian approves, a cap on monthly use, and stronger age verification, including proof-of-age requests for users Meta estimates to be under 13. The order runs five years under court supervision.

Can I claim money from this?

No. This is a state enforcement lawsuit, not a consumer class action. There is no claim form or fund for individuals in this case.

Is the $942 million final?

Not necessarily. Meta has said it will appeal both the jury penalty and the August judgment, and orders of this size are often changed on post-trial motions or appeal.

Sources

• CNBC — "Meta must pay $375 million for violating New Mexico law in child exploitation case, jury rules": CNBC
• CNBC — "Meta's public nuisance case in New Mexico has billion-dollar consequences": CNBC
• New Mexico Department of Justice — "New Mexico Department of Justice Wins Landmark Verdict Against Meta" (official press release): New Mexico DOJ
• First Judicial District Court, Santa Fe — Final Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Judgment, No. D-101-CV-2023-02838 (August 2026): New Mexico Courts (PDF)
• New Mexico Department of Justice — "Court Orders Meta to Pay $942 Million and Overhaul Protections for Children on Facebook and Instagram in Landmark New Mexico Ruling" (official press release): New Mexico DOJ
• CNBC — "Meta ordered to pay $567 million into abatement fund as remedy to child harms case in New Mexico" (August 6, 2026): CNBC
• PBS NewsHour / Associated Press — "A New Mexico judge ordered new child safeguards for Meta. Advocates hope other courts follow": PBS NewsHour

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Status Final Judgment Entered — Meta Says It Will Appeal

Case Title State of New Mexico v. Meta Platforms, Inc.

Court First Judicial District Court, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Case No. D-101-CV-2023-02838

Judge Bryan Biedscheid

Claims New Mexico Unfair Practices Act · public nuisance

Verdict Date March 24, 2026 (jury) · August 6, 2026 (judgment)

Amount $942 million total: $375 million civil penalty + $567 million five-year abatement fund