Meta Considers New Mexico Shutdown in Child Safety Dispute

Meta is raising the prospect of shutting down its social media services in New Mexico in response to a push by state prosecutors for fundamental changes to the company’s platforms, including Instagram, to protect the mental health and safety of children.

The possibility emerged amid legal gamesmanship in the runup to a bench trial next week on allegations that Meta poses a public nuisance.

It’s the second phase of a case that already resulted in $375 million in civil penalties on a jury’s determination that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.

Prosecutors are asking the court to order a series of changes to child accounts on social media aimed at reining in addictive features, improving age verification and preventing child sexual exploitation through default privacy settings and closer oversight.

Meta executives have emphasized that the company continuously improves child safety and addresses compulsive social media use.

The company says its being singled out among hundreds of apps that teens use. Related Stories Verdicts against social media companies carry consequences.

But questions linger Undercover investigation of Meta heads to trial in New Mexico in first stand-alone case by state Jury begins deliberations in landmark New Mexico trial over children’s safety risks on Meta In a court filing unsealed Thursday, Meta said it was 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.