A New Mexico judge on Thursday ordered Meta to pay $567 million and overhaul how youth use its platforms, ruling the company a 'public nuisance' in a case considered the first bellwether among dozens brought against Meta by state attorneys general. Judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered $420 million of the settlement directed to a fund for treatment of New Mexico youth harmed on the platforms, with the remainder for public awareness campaigns.

The judge also prohibited Meta from sending push notifications to youth users between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., limited youth engagement to 90 hours a month per user, and required child protection safety screens on Facebook and Instagram. In March, a jury in the same case had imposed a separate $375 million fine, finding Meta deceived users about safety and facilitated sexual exploitation of minors.

Meta said in a statement it disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal. 'We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content,' a company spokesperson said, The Record reports.