Meta will be on trial in New Mexico, accused of not doing enough to protect children from sexual exploitation on the platform. As the court date approaches, Meta’s lawyers are working hard to limit what the company can use in court.
According to public records reviewed by Cablethe company wants to block research on the impact of social media on the mental health of young people, stories about teenage suicides related to social media, anything about Meta’s finances, the company’s past privacy violations, and even about CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s college years.
This effort is part of a lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez in late 2023. The state accused Meta of failing to protect minors from online predators, trafficking, and sexual abuse on the platform. The case alleges that Meta allegedly allowed explicit material to reach minors and did not implement adequate child safety measures.
In particular, this lawsuit is considered the first trial at the state level, which is scheduled to begin on February 2.
It’s pretty standard that Meta will try to keep the case narrow. However, two legal experts who spoke to Wired believe that efforts to keep information out are too much, including their request not to mention AI chatbots.
In addition, Meta asked the court to block any mention of a public health warning issued by former US surgeon general Vivek Murthy about the effects of social media on the mental health of teenagers. Companies also don’t want to be surveyed (including themselves) about the amount of inappropriate content on their platforms. It argued that all of this information was irrelevant or could prejudice the jury.