District Judge Bryan Biedscheid rejected Meta’s motion to postpone the bench trial in State of New Mexico v. Meta Platforms, Inc., according to a recent announcement from the New Mexico Attorney General. The decision allows Attorney General Raúl Torrez to proceed with seeking what he described as the most comprehensive court-ordered child safety protections ever imposed on a social media company.
The ruling follows several unsuccessful attempts by Meta to dismiss the case, claim immunity under Section 230, and delay proceedings. “Meta has spent years dodging responsibility for the damage its platforms cause to children. They failed to get this case thrown out. They lost at trial. Now the court has told them they cannot run from what comes next. On May 4, we will seek the strongest child safety protections ever proposed against a social media company — and we will ask this court to order Meta to comply,” Attorney General Raúl Torrez said.
Phase two of the proceedings is scheduled for May 4, when Judge Biedscheid will consider the State’s public nuisance claim and determine specific remedies that Meta must implement. The proposed injunction would require significant changes in how Meta operates for minors in New Mexico, including banning features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, engagement-optimizing algorithms, and push notifications during school and sleep hours. Additional measures include a monthly cap of 90 hours for minors’ platform access, hiding like and share counts by default for users under 18, private-by-default accounts for all minors, blocking adults from messaging unconnected children, barring end-to-end encryption for users under 18, imposing permanent bans on accounts involved in exploitation, requiring guardian accounts for all minors’ profiles, mandatory age verification for all users in New Mexico, and establishing a Child Safety Monitor funded by Meta.
A jury previously found Meta liable for 75,000 violations of state law and ordered $375 million in civil penalties—the maximum allowed per violation—with Meta announcing plans to appeal that verdict. The lawsuit was filed after an undercover investigation where agents posing as minors were quickly contacted with sexual solicitations on Meta platforms; testimony during trial included statements from former employees and internal documents indicating knowledge of risks posed by algorithmic features.
The New Mexico Attorney General serves as chief legal officer for the state according to the official website. The office provides services across all counties in New Mexico and coordinates with local law enforcement agencies on public safety efforts. It advances justice through civil litigation and criminal prosecutions while fostering trust through community outreach initiatives according to its official website.
“Meta has spent millions of dollars and years of litigation trying to avoid this moment. It hasn’t worked. We’ll see them in court on May 4,” Torrez said. More details are available in the organization’s press release.
