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- Hacker News
- 46039771 | Is Social Media a Public Nuisance? Litigation Continues | https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/CBLR/announc... | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46039771
46039793 | The Public Nuisance 'Super Tort' [pdf] | https://atra.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/ATRA_The-Public-... | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46039793
- I cancelled my Facebook account and all other active meta properties. Looking back, it feels like escaping some kind of abusive relationship. Complete the the urgent pleas to come back. It's one of those things that you really only can appreciate in hindsight.
Whatever Facebook was, or became, one thing is clear: it's toxic and people are far better off without it.
by iamleppert - 49204301 | NM court orders Meta to pay $567M, make changes for underage users | https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/nm-court-orders-meta-to-pay-5... | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49204301
49204500 | New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567M over harms to children's mental health | https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/06/new-mexic... | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49204500
49204501 | Meta fined $567M in largest child safety ruling against social media giant | https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd7lz3wr2rlo | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49204501
49205817 | Meta ordered to pay $567M in New Mexico for teen mental health fund | https://www.reuters.com/world/new-mexico-court-orders-meta-p... | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49205817
- It's a bit ironic, as New Mexico is absolutely terrible at treating mental health; especially in poor folks. I'll lay odds that it's down near the bottom of the list.
I have known a few folks with relatives in New Mexico that have had mental heath issues, and it was a nightmare for them. They were brought to New York, where they finally got decent treatment.
I am told (by New Mexicans), that this is because New Mexico voters don't want any healthcare going to immigrants.
- > It's a bit ironic, as New Mexico is absolutely terrible at treating mental health; especially in poor folks. I'll lay odds that it's down near the bottom of the list.
This is probably true and not surprising. New Mexico is usually near the bottom of any “good” list and near the top of any “bad” list.
> I am told (by New Mexicans), that this is because New Mexico voters don't want any healthcare going to immigrants.
No, that’s ridiculous. New Mexico is a strongly blue state and is very pro–illegal immigration generally (in that respect we’re nothing like Arizona or Texas). NM was one of the last holdouts to roll out RealID driver’s licenses because we refused to require the strict mandatory identification because of our illegal immigrant population.
New Mexico simply has bad healthcare outcomes generally. A lot of this is because we’re a poverty-stricken state with poor economy and education outcomes. Another part of the problem is we’ve driven away doctors due to massive, legally uncapped punitive damages in malpractice lawsuits. (Notice the thematic resemblance to the story we’re currently commenting on.) One of the biggest political issues in the 2026 legislative session was malpractice reform to try to stem the flow of doctors leaving the state, opposed at every turn of course by our infestation of Better Call Saul–reminiscent trial lawyers.
by noomecksican - This ruling is absurd. The "harm" alleged could be produced not only by any social media, but by any mass media. But this ruling is really not about that-- it is a shot across the bow of Facebook and the rest of Big Tech warning them to get in line with the official propaganda or the US government will make their lives very difficult. Notice how this wasn't happening to Facebook when they were banning anyone that posted the wrong opinion about the Ukraine War or Covid shots.
- > The "harm" alleged could be produced not only by any social media, but by any mass media
When did you last see an addictive newspaper?
by chrisjj - You created an account for this?
Manipulating children to get them addicted or push them deeper into a fatal mental illness (like anorexia) for profit is the same thing tobacco companies did and society responded in much the same way.
by lkey - Meta purposely targeted preteens with a corporate strategy to get them addicted to social mediaby jLaForest
- What benefit do kids draw from instagram and facebook?
- communicating with peers would be the main one.by TZubiri
- It's sad we view social media so negatively these days when it should be incredible tool for both personal and social growth. I grew up with irc and reddit, and it was incredibly useful for me not only find like-minded people but to learn that there's more to life than my small town, there are a variety of different people, ideas and careers out there.
Sadly the new generation of networks grew in a different direction but all of this still exists, and it's incredibly disingenuous to say that "there are no benefits for kids". There's still a community for any subject on both Facebook and Instagram except it's all buried under spam and bad intentions.
by wraptile - Well, Instagram DMs have entirely replaced sms and phone number exchange for an entire generation. This is like saying “what benefit do teenagers draw from having a phone line?”by sneak
- Same benefit you get from HN. And I mean the benefit, not the rationalisation.by inigyou
- There's a lot of benefit, but its all to META shareholders...by SkipperCat
- Socialising. Same benefit I drew from playing video games with my friends when I was in school.
(Though, to be a bit pedantic about it, kids don't use Facebook.)
by gms - I don't like Meta and have never had a Facebook or Insta account but New Mexico is a large shakedown operation with a state seal.
From speed traps targeting out of state plates, to the poor state of medical care from large number of malpractice suits that pay out huge sums with sympathetic juries and drive doctors out of the state the state is always looking for someone else's money.
Huge fentanyl problem, last in education in the US, Meta is a tiny tiny portion of New Mexico's problems.
Source: I live in New Mexico. It's a great state in natural beauty but the shakedown rackets make life worse for the citizens long term in my view.
by mythrwy - Parent your kids.
There are countless services to block content you don't want.
There are dedicated ISPs and cell phone providers that block content you don't want.
Quit thinking that government regulation & registration are the only ways to prevent children from accessing objectionable content.
Removing internet anonymity as a rule will do far more harm than good. Just because the people you agree with are driving the boat right now, there is no guarantee they will be in charge for long.
Edit: once again the government nanny staters get upset when someone brings up personal responsibilities. Just because it's hard doesn't mean you have to have a government (under the threat of violence) make it easier for you. Has everyone forgotten that social media isn't a right or a requirement for existence? You and your family can just not engage with it.
by dizlexic - It's not about kids imo. They're purposely designing things to be as addicting as possible. To me, that is morally wrong, akin to what gambling and "prediction" markets do. Beyond morals, I think it creates deep problems in society, beyond just "who owns the thing recommending" (seriously. If you're not ok with Trump or Kamala Harris controlling what you watch, why are you ok with a nameless exec doing it?)by fireflash38
- I agree that parents have the primary responsibility, but at the same time laws should be created to punish that harm children’s physical and mental health.
There’s a reason that laws exists to prohibit selling cigarettes and alcohol to children. But teenagers would still find a way to consume those, however now there’s an incentive for people to not sell those to underage because the consequences would be not worth it.
Same should happen with social media that harms children and their mental health.
- I agree, but also in fairness it has taken this whole mess for Google to finally get off its arse and add proper age gating to Android (the Play Age Signals API).by IshKebab
- "Just say no!" (Nancy Reagan)by b3lvedere
- > Parent your kids.
Ok...
> There are countless services to block content you don't want.
How easily will a motivated 10 year old work around them?
> There are dedicated ISPs and cell phone providers that block content you don't want.
Fairly sure there aren't any of these where I live. People cannot and will not move for a different ISP (WTF :-) ).
> Removing internet anonymity as a rule will do far more harm than good.
Most likely, and the true legal solution is to turn social media into actual media. It's killed newspapers, so it should replace them. Social media should be legally liable for everything ANY user posts unless they can prove they have active protection measures. I don't care how they do it, but they should do it. Yes, this will probably kill all social media. Burn it all down and let's build something better.
by oblio - This assumes a world where one parent can afford to not work and mind the kids full time instead. This also assumes a world where having a parent over their shoulder full time doesn't severely mess up kids.
And meanwhile, punishing companies that knowingly cause harm for profit is broadly beneficial and should be a no-brainer. It also doesn't have anything to do with hypocritical age verification laws, which companies like Facebook are actively pushing to shift the responsibility away from themselves. I'd rather we supported the beneficial approach over the anonymity-destroying one, if it's all the same to you.
by Balinares - I wonder how many billions it would take every year for this to not just be considered "cost of doing business"?by majorchord
- At some point I would like any to see a government tell a company that they've now broken to many laws and will have to shutdown.
It's insane that you can keep breaking laws if you're a business and can afford the fines. There's very little reason for any company to not just break the law or endanger people, because the penalty is fair low (if you're large enough). If the owners and shareholders risked losing their holdings, there would be some incentive to do better.
Equally frighting is that you can just employee people to defend your illegal and/or shitty business practises. How the hell is it even remotely possible for Meta find legal representation anymore. They've done so many bad things that you'd expect the lawyers to yell at Zuckerberg, Liar Liar style, that he should stop breaking the law. Doesn't Meta have lawyers that good enough check their business for illegal or legally risky decisions?
by mrweasel - This is a lot of money for just New Mexico - they only have a population a little more than 2 million.
- This amounts to about 2 days of revenue. I'm sure they are going to learn their lesson with that kind of a penalty!by ryandrake
- This is the "slap on the wrist, don't do it again".
A future judge will not be so kind if they keep doing it.
Being punitive the first time is unwise because it invites abuse by others seeking an advantage.
by cadamsdotcom - Instagram (reels) and tiktok are truly online version of Heroine equivalent. I remember during pandemic time downloading tiktok just to see what's all the hype was about and next thing, I was wasting hours mindlessly scrolling through it. Later on same happened with reels as well. I would open the app thinking maybe just check for 15mins and time just goes by so fast and I would end-up wasting hours on it.
Also, the comment sections are the worst. Total brainrot repetitive comments by people just seeking for more likes. Last year I finally deleted tiktok and few weeks ago I've deactivated my instagram account. Since then, I have actually been sleeping much better and also less negativity and stress in my life.