COURTS
Meta: New Mexico will seek $3.7 billion at trial
Second phase trial will determine if Meta must pay to mitigate alleged harms to children
Published
Modified
New Mexico again will face off against Meta on Monday at a second trial in Santa Fe that could prove more costly to the social-media giant than the $375 million jury verdict against the company in March.
Attorneys for New Mexico will ask a judge to order Meta 鈥� the parent of Facebook and Instagram 鈥� to finance a $3.7 billion plan to provide mental health services for teens, Meta argued in court records filed Thursday.
The state also seeks changes to Meta's social-media platforms that the company argues are "practically infeasible" and could force the company "to entirely withdraw Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp from the state," Meta contends.
A Santa Fe jury in March found that Meta failed to protect New Mexico children from sexual exploitation and other harms and ordered the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties for violations of the state's Unfair Practices Act.
The jury reached the verdict in less than a day following a seven-week trial in 1st Judicial District Court before Chief Judge Bryan Biedscheid.
State Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez filed the lawsuit against Meta Platforms and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2023, alleging the company failed to protect children from sexual abuse, online solicitation and human trafficking. The suit alleged both violations of the Unfair Practices Act and creating a public nuisance.
Opening statements are expected to begin Monday in the public-nuisance portion of the trial to determine if Meta must fund programs to mitigate alleged harms to New Mexico children.
The bench trial, without a jury, is scheduled to continue through May 22 with Biedscheid again presiding.
Meta filed a "preliminary statement" on Thursday arguing that New Mexico will ask the judge to order the company to "finance a sweeping $3.7 billion plan to reshape the way all mental and behavioral healthcare is delivered to New Mexico teens."
That could include paying for new health care facilities, hiring staff and even buying vehicles, the filing said. If New Mexico prevails, it would be the first time any court has found that a social media apps constitute a public nuisance.
New Mexico is seeking changes to the company's social-media apps that would force Meta 鈥渢o build entirely separate apps for use only in New Mexico," the filing contends. "Therefore, granting this onerous relief could compel Meta to entirely withdraw Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp from the state as the only feasible means of compliance."
Torrez responded that Meta's threat to withdraw its apps in New Mexico shows that the company has little regard for child safety.
"We know Meta has the ability to make these changes," Torrez said in a statement. "This is not about technological capability. Meta simply refuses to place the safety of children ahead of engagement, advertising revenue, and profit.鈥�
Torrez also listed changes New Mexico will seek from Meta at trial. They include:
Age verification to prevent adults from posing as minors.
Restrictions on end-to-end encryption for minors to prevent predators from operating in secrecy.
Prominent warning labels about platform risks.
Permanent bans for adults who engage in child exploitation.
Independent oversight through a court-appointed child safety monitor.
Safer recommendation algorithms that do not prioritize time spent on apps over child well-being.
Meta argued that changes New Mexico seeks are technically impossible. As an example, the state wants Meta to verify with 99% accuracy the ages of New Mexico users to ensure they are at least 13. New Mexico also demands that Meta to screen 99% of child sexual abuse material from app content.
"It is not technically possible to construct a system for detecting new (child sexual abuse material) that is guaranteed to be 99% accurate," Meta argued.
