Meta is raising the prospect of shutting down its social media services in New Mexico as New Mexico prosecutors press for court-ordered changes aimed at protecting children online, including on Instagram. The company’s latest position was described in a court filing unsealed Thursday as the state prepares for a bench trial next week. Prosecutors are seeking “a series of changes” to child accounts on Meta’s platforms, including efforts to rein in addictive features, strengthen age verification, and prevent child sexual exploitation through default privacy settings and closer oversight.
The prospect of a shutdown emerged amid what the filing described as legal gamesmanship ahead of the trial phase. The case against Meta is part of a broader wave: New Mexico’s lawsuit is the first to reach trial among more than 40 state attorneys general pursuing suits against the company on claims that it contributes to a mental health crisis among young people. Most of those cases are pursuing remedies in federal court.
New Mexico’s suit stems from allegations that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. The AP said the dispute is the second phase of a case that already resulted in $375 million in civil penalties after a jury determination that Meta and YouTube had harmed children. In the next phase, prosecutors are asking the court for specific remedies aimed at child accounts.
In its filing, Meta said it was unfeasible to meet a proposed requirement tied to verifying that child users are at least 13 years old, and cited demands in addition to that standard. Meta argued that the requirement effectively leaves the company with “impossible obligations,” adding that, “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.”
A shutdown limited to New Mexico would affect Meta’s widely used platforms, which also include Facebook and WhatsApp, and could disrupt how residents communicate through the services. It also could affect Meta’s use of the platforms for commercial advertising in the state. Still, one legal expert cautioned that withdrawing from New Mexico could also send a hostile message that creates unintended consequences.
Eric Goldman, codirector of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law in California, said a move to “turn the lights off” in response to safety demands could echo other technology-industry disputes. Goldman noted that Canadian authorities accused Facebook in 2023 of putting profits over safety after the platform blocked local news content during record-setting wildfires and evacuations, in response to a newly enacted law requiring tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.
Meta’s argument is part of a continuing fight about whether the court should impose specific constraints on platform features. Prosecutors are asking the court to rework child-account settings and oversight, including through default privacy changes and measures intended to prevent child sexual exploitation. Meta has said it continuously improves child safety and addresses compulsive social media use, and the company says it is being singled out among hundreds of apps teens use.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat running for reelection to a second term in November, disputed Meta’s position that the proposed changes are impractical. Torrez said he doubts the state is likely to face a shutdown response on a broad scale, stating, “I highly doubt that they’re going to be willing and able to turn the lights off for their product all over the country.” He also said the case reflects a modern feature set, arguing that “before times” users did not have “infinite scroll” or “auto-play,” and he said he will not “be turning a blind eye to exploited children in the state of New Mexico because people have an advertising contract.”
Beyond the United States, other governments have implemented or planned restrictions aimed at children’s online activity, ranging from social media bans to requiring some younger teens to link accounts to a parent or guardian. New Mexico is also seeking requirements that all child accounts on Meta platforms have an associated parent or guardian, as well as a court-supervised child safety monitor to track improvements over time.
Goldman said the feasibility of enforcing platform-specific changes could depend on whether the target jurisdiction is supported by the company’s operations. He said there are countries where Facebook “doesn’t directly support in part because it’s just not worth it,” adding that “the cost of maintaining the separate service is greater than any value from that territory,” and that the same could be true for New Mexico.