Meta seeks to limit the evidence in a child safety case

Meta is about to be put on trial in New Mexico, accused of not doing enough to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms. As the court date approaches, Meta’s attorneys are working hard to limit what can be used against the company in court.

According to public records reviewed by Wired, the company wants to ban research on the impact of social media on young people’s mental health, stories about social media-related teen suicides, any mention of meta money, the company’s past privacy violations, and even things related to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s college years.

The efforts are part of a lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez in late 2023. The state accuses Meta of failing to protect minors from online predators, trafficking and sexual assault on its platforms. The case alleges that Meta allowed explicit material to reach minors and did not put in place adequate child safety measures.

It is worth noting that this lawsuit is considered the first trial of its kind at the state level, and is scheduled to begin on the second of next February.

It’s fairly typical of Meta to try to keep the issue as narrow as possible. However, two legal experts who spoke to Wired believe the company’s attempt to keep so much information is unusually broad, including its requests not to mention its chatbots.

Additionally, Meta asked the court to block any mention of a public health warning issued by former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy regarding the impact of social media on young people’s mental health. The company also doesn’t want to conduct surveys (including its own) about the amount of inappropriate content on its platforms. She says all this information is irrelevant or could unfairly influence the jury.