U.S. Court Fines Meta Nearly $1 Billion: What Will Change on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp
7 August 14:30
A U.S. court has handed down one of the most high-profile rulings against tech giant Meta, ordering the company to pay nearly $942 million in fines and compensation due to the negative impact of its social media platforms on children and adolescents. In addition to the financial penalties, the company was ordered to make significant changes to how Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp operate, strengthening protections for underage users.
This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" , citing a Financial Times article.
The court increased the fine to nearly $1 billion
A New Mexico state judge ruled that Meta must pay an additional $567 million in compensation.
Earlier, in March of this year, a jury had already awarded $375 million against the company.
Thus, the total amount of penalties in the case has reached $942 million.
Meta has already stated that it disagrees with the court’s decision and plans to appeal it.
What Meta Is Accused Of
The lawsuit against the company was filed back in 2023 by the New Mexico Attorney General.
The investigation alleges that Meta’s algorithms:
- recommended harmful content to children;
- facilitated the spread of sexually explicit material;
- facilitated sexual harassment;
- created conditions conducive to the recruitment of minors and human trafficking;
- used mechanisms that foster addiction to social media.
The court agreed that the company had violated state laws regarding unfair practices and creating a public hazard.
The court compared the impact of social media to environmental pollution
In his ruling, Judge Brian Bidscheid noted that the negative impact of social media extends far beyond the platforms themselves.
He cited studies by the U.S. Surgeon General linking active use of social media to an increase in:
- depression among adolescents;
- eating disorders;
- psychological problems;
- the number of suicides among young people.
In the court’s view, Meta’s impact is comparable to industrial pollution, as its consequences are felt by society as a whole—families, schools, hospitals, and law enforcement agencies.
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Where the nearly one billion dollars will go
Of the total compensation amount, approximately $420 million will be allocated to:
- children’s medical treatment;
- support for families;
- psychological support;
- community mental health programs.
The remainder of the funds will be used to finance prevention programs.
What Meta Will Have to Change
The court’s ruling also mandates changes to how Meta’s services operate.
The company has been ordered to:
- strengthen its tools to protect teenagers;
- more effectively monitor the use of accounts by children under 13;
- prohibit minors from engaging in romantic or sexualized interactions with Meta’s AI chatbots;
- implement additional safety measures on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
This is not Meta’s first legal defeat
In March 2026, a Los Angeles court found Meta and Google liable for creating platforms that are addictive to children.
At that time, the companies were ordered to pay $6 million in compensation to the plaintiff, who claimed that her addiction to social media during childhood had negatively impacted her mental health.
Both companies are also appealing this ruling.
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