New Mexico, USA: A U.S. court has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to pay $942 million in penalties after finding that the company failed to adequately protect children from harmful content and online exploitation. The ruling is one of the largest financial penalties ever imposed on Meta in a child safety case.

The lawsuit argued that Meta’s platforms exposed children to inappropriate and dangerous content while not providing enough safeguards against online predators and other risks. According to the court, the company’s existing safety measures were not sufficient to protect young users.

The total penalty includes an earlier $375 million award and an additional $567 million, bringing the overall amount to $942 million.

Along with the financial penalty, the court directed Meta to strengthen its child protection measures. These include improving age verification, limiting unnecessary interactions between adults and minors, introducing safer default settings for teenage users, and taking stronger action against harmful content.

Meta has disagreed with the ruling, stating that it has already introduced several features to improve the safety of young users on Facebook and Instagram. The company has also confirmed that it plans to appeal the decision.

The case has renewed global debate over how social media companies should balance user engagement with the responsibility to keep children safe online.