Asger Risom
Landmark New Mexico case challenges Meta over children’s safety
A long-simmering legal fight over children’s safety online is about to reach a critical moment. One of the world’s largest social media companies will soon have to defend its practices in front of a jury.
The case could set a precedent for how platforms are held accountable for harm involving minors.
A first-of-its-kind case
Meta Platforms is set to face trial next week in a lawsuit brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, according to Reuters. The case is the first of its kind against Meta to reach a jury.
Torrez alleges that Meta exposed children and teenagers to sexual exploitation on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and profited from it. The lawsuit claims the company promoted illegal content and allowed predators to access underage users, sometimes leading to real-world abuse and human trafficking, Reuters reported.
The trial is scheduled to begin Monday in Santa Fe District Court and is expected to last seven or eight weeks.
Undercover accounts
The lawsuit stems from a 2023 undercover investigation known as “Operation MetaPhile,” run by the New Mexico attorney general’s office. Investigators created accounts posing as users under the age of 14 on Facebook and Instagram.
According to Reuters, those accounts received sexually explicit material and were contacted by adults seeking similar content. The operation led to criminal charges against three individuals, the attorney general’s office said.
The state also argues that Meta designed its platforms to maximize engagement despite evidence of harm to children’s mental health, pointing to features such as infinite scroll and autoplay video.
Meta’s defense
Meta has denied the allegations and says it has extensive safeguards to protect young users. Ahead of the trial, a Meta spokesperson described the state’s claims as “sensationalist, irrelevant and distracting.”
“For over a decade, we’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted in-depth research to understand the issues that matter most,” the spokesperson said. “We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, and we’re always working to do better.”
Meta has also argued that it is shielded from liability by the First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally protects platforms from lawsuits over user-generated content.
Broader scrutiny
The New Mexico case comes as Meta faces growing legal and political pressure over child safety. Reuters previously reported that internal company documents allowed AI chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,” language Meta later removed after questions from reporters.
Meta is also confronting thousands of lawsuits nationwide accusing it and other social media companies of intentionally designing addictive products for young people, contributing to a mental health crisis. The first trial in that broader litigation began this week in Los Angeles, Reuters reported.
Sources: Reuters
