Meta Threatens to Shut Down Its Apps in New Mexico Over Child Safety Court Case
Meta has threatened to shut down Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp in New Mexico amid a child safety court battle, as state prosecutors push for fundamental changes to the company’s social media platforms.
In March, Meta was ordered to pay $375 million after a New Mexico jury found the tech giant liable for failing to protect children from exploitation and harmful content on its platforms.
The second phase of the case, known as the remedies phase, is scheduled to begin on Monday and will determine what actions the company must take in response. New Mexico prosecutors are asking the court to order sweeping changes aimed at making Meta’s platforms safer for underage users in the state. These include limiting addictive features, addressing end-to-end encryption for minors, improving age verification, and preventing child sexual exploitation through default privacy settings and closer oversight.
If Meta loses this phase of the trial, the company could be required to implement a range of reforms to its products. The New Mexico Department of Justice argues these measures would improve safety for young users. Meta, however, says the proposed changes are too burdensome.
If it is forced to make these changes, Meta has warned it could block access to its apps and withdraw its services entirely from New Mexico — a move that would be unprecedented in the United States.
According to a report by AP News, in a court filing unsealed Thursday, Meta says it considers it unfeasible for the company to meet a proposed requirement for 99% accuracy in verifying that child users are at least 13 years old, among other demands.
“As a practical matter, this requirement effectively requires Meta to shut down its services — for all users in the state — or else comply with impossible obligations,” Meta said in the filing.
Such a shutdown across New Mexico’s population of about 2.1 million people could disrupt personal communication on widely used platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, and affect their use for commercial advertising.
New Mexico’s case is the first to go to trial among more than 40 lawsuits filed by state attorneys general alleging that Meta’s platforms contribute to a mental health crisis among young people. Most of the other cases are being pursued in U.S. federal court.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez says he is skeptical that Meta would follow through on a nationwide shutdown of its social media platforms if similar rulings were imposed in other states.
“I highly doubt that they’re going to be willing and able to turn the lights off for their product all over the country,” Torrez says in an online news conference, according to AP News.
Meta executives have said the company continues to improve child safety measures and address concerns about compulsive social media use. The company also argues it is being singled out among hundreds of apps used by teenagers.
The case comes amid wider scrutiny of Meta’s approach to child safety. In addition to the New Mexico trial, a Los Angeles jury found that Meta and Google were liable for harm caused to a young woman who said she became addicted to their platforms as a child, awarding her $6 million in damages in the landmark case. This week, Meta was also charged by European Union (EU) regulators with breaching landmark tech rules after failing to prevent children under 13 from accessing Instagram and Facebook.
Meanwhile, proposals to restrict children’s access to social media are gaining momentum globally. In Australia, a “world-first” law banning social media use for children under 16 came into effect in December. However, Australia recently warned it could take legal action against social media companies, including Meta, accusing them of failing to enforce the legislation and allowing children to remain on their platforms.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
