SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Closing arguments began Monday in a landmark trial in New Mexico where social media conglomerate Meta is accused of misleading its users about how safe its platforms are for children.
Jurors will take up the case after the arguments and six weeks of testimony from scores of witnesses that included local teachers, psychiatric experts, state investigators, top Meta officials, and whistleblowers who left the company.
The case in New Mexico state court is among the first to reach trial in a wave of litigation involving social media platforms and their impacts on children.
New Mexico prosecutors have accused Meta — which owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp — of prioritizing profits over safety in violation of state consumer protection laws. They have raised concerns about the safety of complex algorithms, messaging features, and settings.
“It’s clear that young people are spending too much time on Meta’s products, they’ve lost control,” prosecution attorney Linda Singer told the jury in closing statements. “Meta knew that and it didn’t disclose it.”
At the same time, Singer said testimony and evidence at trial showed Meta’s algorithms had been recommending sensational and harmful content to teenagers, and failing to truly enforce its minimum user age of 13.
“The safety issues that you’ve heard about in this case weren’t mistakes. They were a product of a corporate philosophy that chose growth and engagement over children’s safety,” Singer said. “And young people in this state and around the country have borne the cost.”
Attorneys for Meta dispute the claims and say the company incorporates protections for teenagers and weeds out harmful content, while also acknowledging that some potentially harmful posts get past its safety nets.
Singer urged jurors to impose a civil penalty of more than $2 billion against Meta based on the maximum $5,000 penalty per violation on two counts of consumer protection violations, and an estimated 208,700 monthly users of Meta platforms under the age of 18 in New Mexico.
“Over the course of a decade Meta has failed over and over again to act honestly and transparently, failed to act to protect young people in this state,” Singer said. “It is up to you to finish this job.”
A second phase of the trial will follow with a judge deciding whether Meta created a public nuisance and should be financially responsible for funding programs to address alleged harms to children.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed suit in 2023, accusing Meta of creating a marketplace and “breeding ground” for predators who target children for sexual exploitation and failing to disclose what it knew about those harmful effects. State investigators created social media accounts posing as children to document online sexual solicitations and Meta's responses.
The prosecution maintains that Meta's assurances about safety do not align with internal research showing significant safety concerns, including the acknowledgment that one-in-three teens experienced problematic use.
A jury assembled from residents of Santa Fe County will decide whether Meta violated the state's Unfair Practices Act, which could result in significant fines based on willful violations.
The outcome of this trial may set precedent for similar lawsuits across the country regarding the responsibility of tech companies in protecting their young users.
