Court in New Mexico convicts Meta to millions in fines and obliges company to make changes for minors

Background of the case

In addition to the fine, the court imposed a series of structural requirements. These include mandatory age verification, stricter default settings for minor accounts, as well as limits on daily usage time, as the ruling states.

Meta announced it would review the decision. The corporation rejected accusations that its products were designed to increase consumption among minors and announced it would exhaust all legal avenues.

The case from New Mexico evokes memories of a similar, ongoing dispute between Meta and the EU Commission. There, too, the question is whether the corporation is violating EU digital laws with its payment models.

Connections to the EU debate

Legal observers see the ruling as a precedent with potential signaling effects beyond the borders of the United States. For the first time, a global tech corporation is being judicially forced to change its platform architecture for an entire group of young users, it was said.

For Meta, the decision has immediate consequences in the state of New Mexico. If the corporation does not implement the requirements within the deadlines set by the court, further penalty payments and possible coercive measures are threatened.

Reporting on the ruling was featured, among others, in the BR24 Nachrichten broadcast. Bavarian media also picked up on the case, as the debate about child protection on the internet is likewise being discussed politically in Bavaria.

Reactions and consequences

Observers expect that the ruling will give new impetus to the discussion about online consumption and harm to minors. Consumer advocates are already calling for similar regulations to be examined in Europe, since the corporation operates globally.

The ruling is not yet final. Meta can appeal and thereby take the dispute to higher courts. Until a final decision is made, however, the court's order applies provisionally.

The proceedings are being closely watched in the industry, as a confirmation of the ruling could set standards beyond New Mexico for how large platforms and their youth protection measures are handled. According to media reports, other US states are also already examining similar lawsuits.