Overview
- The three-week bench trial, which opened Monday in Santa Fe, will determine if Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp must be redesigned for minors under a public-nuisance finding.
- Prosecutors seek design changes to curb compulsive use by teens, including ending infinite scroll and autoplay, reducing push notifications, hiding public like tallies, and reworking recommendation algorithms that prioritize constant engagement.
- The state also wants stronger safety controls such as strict age checks that block users under 13, parent-linked minor accounts, default privacy settings, limits on adult contact with teens, encryption rollbacks for under-18s, and a court-appointed child safety monitor.
- A jury in March ordered $375 million in civil penalties after finding Meta knowingly harmed children and hid knowledge of sexual exploitation, while Meta denies liability, plans to appeal, and warns it could withdraw services from New Mexico if ordered to meet demands it calls unworkable.
- The case is the first among more than 40 state attorney general suits to reach trial and could include a request for roughly $3.7 billion to fund youth mental health services, signaling potential changes to how social platforms are built and overseen nationwide.