Instagram & Meta To Pay $567M For Kids’ Mental Health

August 7, 2026 5:01 am

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. The order came late Thursday in the second phase of a landmark trial that the social media giant lost in March. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said $420 million of the money 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. Meta said in a statement that it disagreed with the ruling and will appeal it. Meta added that it remains confident in its record of protecting teens online.