Meta says it could shut down social media platforms in New Mexico

Meta has threatened to withdraw its social media platforms from New Mexico in response to a legal battle with state prosecutors who are demanding fundamental changes to protect children’s mental health and safety on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

The possibility emerged in court documents unsealed Thursday, as Meta prepares for a bench trial next week. The trial represents the second phase of a case that already resulted in $375 million in civil penalties after a jury found Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed information about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.

New Mexico prosecutors are seeking court-ordered changes to Meta’s platforms that would curb addictive features, enhance age verification systems, and prevent child exploitation through improved privacy settings and oversight. Among the state’s demands is a requirement for 99% accuracy in verifying that child users are at least 13 years old.

“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 stated in its court filing. The company argues that the proposed age verification standard is technically unfeasible and would force it to cease operations in New Mexico entirely.

Such a shutdown would affect 2.1 million New Mexico residents, eliminating access to Meta’s platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp for personal communications and business advertising.

Eric Goldman, codirector of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law, noted that withdrawing from New Mexico could be seen as an intentionally hostile move by Meta, potentially leading to unintended consequences. He drew parallels to a 2023 incident where Facebook blocked local news content in Canada during record-setting wildfires, prompting accusations that the company was prioritizing profits over safety.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez dismissed Meta’s threat during an online news conference. “I highly doubt that they’re going to be willing and able to turn the lights off for their product all over the country,” said Torrez, a Democrat running for reelection in November.

Torrez challenged Meta’s claim that the proposed changes are impractical, referencing earlier iterations of social media that functioned without features like “infinite scroll” and “auto-play.” He emphasized that he won’t be “turning a blind eye to exploited children in the state of New Mexico because people have an advertising contract.”

The New Mexico case represents a significant legal test for Meta, as it is the first to reach trial among more than 40 similar lawsuits filed by state attorneys general across the country. Most of these cases are pursuing remedies in federal court rather than state venues.

The legal challenge comes amid growing concerns about social media’s impact on children. Just last month, a Los Angeles jury found both Meta and YouTube liable for harms to children using their services, validating longstanding concerns about social media dangers.

Beyond the U.S., numerous countries have implemented or are developing restrictions on children’s online activities, from outright social media bans to requiring younger users to link accounts with parents. New Mexico’s demands also include requiring all child accounts on Meta platforms to have an associated parent or guardian, as well as a court-supervised child safety monitor to track improvements.

Goldman pointed out that there are precedents for Facebook declining to operate in certain regions. “The cost of maintaining the separate service is greater than any value from that territory,” he explained. “And that could be the case with New Mexico as well.”

As the trial approaches, the standoff highlights the growing tension between social media companies’ business models and mounting public pressure to protect young users from potential harms, with significant implications for how these platforms may operate in the future.