A New Mexico judge ordered the Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp parent company to pay another $567m for the way it has harmed children.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has seen his company face an increasing number of lawsuits over child safety. A US judge in New Mexico on Thursday ordered Meta to pay another $567m (£421m) for its failure to warn the public about dangers its platforms posed to children, marking the largest ruling against the company over child safety. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said the social media giant is a "public nuisance" akin to air pollution and that it must put the money in a fund aimed at reducing future harms. The ruling is in addition to $375m in fines Meta was already ordered to pay in the case, for a total of $942m. Judge Biedscheid compared Meta to a factory, with advertising and content as its product and "the psychological harm and sexual exploitation of children to be the pollution that must be abated". Meta, which owns and operates Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Threads, has been contacted by the BBC for comment. Regarding the earlier $375m verdict against in the case, Meta had said it intended to appeal the ruling. It was the first time that a state had successfully sued Meta over child safety issues. The case stems from a 2023 lawsuit brought by attorneys for the State of New Mexico, arguing Meta should be held liable for the way in which its platforms endangered children and exposed them to sexually explicit material and contact with sexual predators.