New Mexico Seeks Sweeping Changes to Meta Platforms in Public Nuisance Trial

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is asking a state judge to impose far-reaching changes on Meta's platforms after winning a $375 million verdict against the company earlier this year in a child safety case. The three-week public nuisance trial begins Monday in Santa Fe, where Torrez's office will argue that Meta has created a public health hazard in the state. The proposed remedies include mandatory age verification for New Mexico users, a prohibition on end-to-end encryption for users under 18, a 90-hour monthly cap on minors' platform use, and limits on engagement-boosting features such as infinite scroll and autoplay videos. The state is also demanding that Meta detect 99 percent of new child sexual abuse material. While any court-ordered changes would technically apply only to Meta's operations in New Mexico, the company could extend them nationally for simplicity or potentially shut down services in the state entirely. Judge Bryan Biedscheid will evaluate which proposals are relevant and feasible after hearing testimony from approximately 15 witnesses, including experts on the technical feasibility of the remedies and fact witnesses regarding alleged harms. Privacy advocates have warned that age verification systems would require collecting more personal information from adults and minors, potentially making users less safe. Meta has also argued in legal filings that proving a 99 percent detection rate for child sexual abuse material would be impossible, since doing so would require detecting 100 percent of such content to establish the baseline. Torrez has said the $375 million verdict alone is insufficient to change Meta's business practices. He has also traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for overhauling Section 230, the federal law that shields tech platforms from liability for user-generated content. Meta spokesperson Chris Sgro called the state's mandates ill-informed and said they infringe on parental rights and stifle free expression, while noting the company has already launched 13 safety measures in the past year.