New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567m over harms to children’s mental health • Hacker News Board

Re: New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567m over harms to children’s mental health

#451

Post by thomastjeffery » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 5:13 PM UTC

tristanj wrote: post #201

tmp10423288442 wrote: post #109

A lot of people on this story are making the usual snarky remarks that, oh, this is just a slap on the wrist—some trivial proportion of Meta’s global revenue. And that is true, but unlike the EU, for example, New Mexico is a tiny jurisdiction. It only has a little bit more than 2 million people. So actually, a fine—or a judgment—of $942 million that applies just to New Mexico is enormous. If you look at Meta’s revenu…

This analysis actually understates how massive and outsized the penalties are. The court ruling only applies to children in New Mexico under age 18. New Mexico has ~450,000 people under age 18, of which roughly 140,000 are between ages 13-17 (Meta officially requires age 13+ to use their platforms). Recent Pew surveys of U.S. teens ages 13–17 show ~70% of teenagers use Instagram and ~30% use Facebook. In New Mexico,…

> Which creates some bizarre incentives, minors get rewarded for signing up for the platforms that are harming them in the first place.

Only if you set aside the passage of time.

Re: New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567m over harms to children’s mental health

#452

Post by vkou » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC

vkou wrote: post #332

barbazoo wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The judge found that Meta’s operation of Facebook and Instagram created a public nuisance which injured public health, safety, and welfare; and burdened public schools, hospitals, and law enforcement. Hopefully one day this is what people think of when they hear people say "I work for Meta".

It'll probably happen the day after 'Thank you for your service' will take stock of the human misery that service has inflicted upon the world. I wouldn't hold my breath.

It's interesting how people want to tar and feather people for working at... A shitty social media/advertising firm for being in the periphery of morally questionable practices, but are waaaaaaay more lenient when it comes to people who volunteer to work in an imperial military.

Re: New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567m over harms to children’s mental health

#453

Post by deepsun » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 6:15 PM UTC

nujabe wrote: post #135

deepsun wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure Meta will drag the case in appeals for many years until the order becomes irrelevant. Cheaper than paying $942m.

Why would dragging it on make the order irrelevant?

Aand, Meta just announced they are going to appeal.

Re: New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567m over harms to children’s mental health

#454

Post by DiscourseFan » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 6:19 PM UTC

cheschire wrote: post #334

59percentmore wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point of a fine is to change behavior. It's not outsize if it's enough to do that. >If this fine remains, and Meta pays out to the affected parties, these kids could end up rewarded with thousands of dollars for just for having a Facebook or Instagram account. Good. https://www.thefader.com/2015/12/03/on-fleek-peaches-monroee... These platforms are so profitable precisely because they fleece users for way more va…

I feel like you skipped the next sentence from GP. This type of award might not balance the equation the way you think it does.

Yes but Meta is being rewarded for harming children currently. So you're arguing, in fact, that we should not give kids money as restitution because it would create a bad "incentive" for them, rather than disincentivize the company that has already brought them harm from further harming them?