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# Court orders Meta to pay hundreds of millions to address harms to young people from its platforms
- URL: https://capitolcommunicator.com/court-orders-meta-to-pay-hundreds-of-millions-to-address-harms-to-young-people-from-its-platforms/
- Published: 2026-08-07T16:45:33.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-08T11:38:29.000Z
- Author: Capitol Communicator
- Tags: Social Media, #wp-top-right-sponsored, #Import 2026-10-08 18:56

**A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people** from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial, states a [post](https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/court-orders-instagram-facebooks-meta-pay-567m-address-135441473?ref=capitolcommunicator.com) on ABC News.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid said in a ruling that the bulk of the money — $420 million — will be used for treatment services for young people. The rest will go toward awareness and prevention, screening services and other costs over the next five years.

The new penalty, states the post on ABC News, is in addition to the $375 million in civil penalties that jurors ordered against Meta in March after determining the company knowingly [harmed children’s mental health](https://apnews.com/article/meta-trial-child-sexual-exploitation-5ad9f7bf1ad05bef9d177938e94f0e8b?ref=capitolcommunicator.com) and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. In the second phase, prosecutors asked the judge to impose fundamental changes at Meta aimed at reining in addictive features, improving [age verification](https://apnews.com/article/internet-age-verification-supreme-court-def346d7bf299566a3687d8c4f224fec?ref=capitolcommunicator.com) and preventing child sexual exploitation through default privacy settings and closer oversight.

The total amount Meta is responsible for — $942 million — is a small fraction of of its annual profit, which was about $60 billion in 2025, states the post.