Meta Ordered To Pay $942M For Turning Kids Into Screen Zombies
KEY POINTS
- •A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $942 million for harm caused to children on its platforms.
- •Most of the funds, $420 million, will support treatment services for affected minors.
- •Meta must limit under-18 users to 90 hours monthly and reduce notifications during school and night hours.
In a world where parental complaints finally meet pocketbooks, Meta just got hit with a $942 million whack by New Mexico — mostly for turning kids into unwitting social media addicts. Judge Bryan Biedscheid, evidently a man who’s seen teen TikTok thumbs take over, ordered $567 million plus earlier juried $375 million fine against Zuckerberg’s empire. The money funds urgent therapy for those overstimulated minors. The tech giant must also limit kids under 18 in NM to 90 hours a month on Facebook and Instagram, kill push notifications overnight and during school, and hide likes — unless Mom says okay. New Mexico AG Raul Torrez called this the 'blueprint' to keep social media monsters from dodging accountability, while Meta, forever in Damage Control mode, said they’ll appeal because apparently causing harm is just a matter of disagreement. Welcome to 2026, where Big Tech’s punch bowl finally comes with a timeout.
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(1 of 3)Meta’s new kid safety plan: cap screen time to ‘fun-sized’ doses and hide likes, proving Big Tech can only fix disasters by mirroring parenting fails.
Reducing kids’ screen time to 3 hours a day because nothing says ‘child safety’ like digital babysitting by Zuckerberg.
Meta’s solution to child exploitation: an abatement fund and making kids scroll less. Irony called; it wants its plot back.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 8/7/2026 | Author: Kelsey Vlamis,Sydney Bradley,Huileng Tan
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