A trial beginning Monday in Santa Fe will test New Mexico’s claims that Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp harmed young users’ mental health and seek a court order forcing the company to make changes.
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Raúl Torrez accusing Meta of designing its platforms to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation.
The second phase of litigation
It marks the second phase of litigation after a jury in March found Meta violated state consumer protection law by misrepresenting platform safety for minors and ordered $375 million in damages.
In this phase, the judge will determine whether Meta’s platforms constitute a “public nuisance” under New Mexico law – a finding that could trigger wide-ranging remedies.
Torrez’s office is expected to seek billions more in damages and orders requiring Meta to add age verification, redesign its algorithm to promote quality content for minors, and end autoplay and infinite scroll for young users.
Meta’s Defence
Meta, which says it has taken extensive steps to protect young users, argued in court filings that no scientific evidence links social media to mental health problems and that many demanded changes would be impossible to implement, potentially forcing the company to exit the state entirely.
“The New Mexico Attorney General’s focus on a single platform is a misguided strategy that ignores the hundreds of other apps teens use daily,” a company spokesperson said.
The case is one of thousands nationwide accusing Meta and other platforms of deliberately engineering addictive products for young people.
Meta warned investors last week that legal and regulatory pressure in the U.S. and EU “could significantly impact our business and financial results.”
Torrez said he hopes the trial will “set a new standard, not only in the state of New Mexico but nationally and potentially globally, for a new set of expectations for how social media companies are expected to conduct themselves.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
