Meta is scrambling to control the narrative as it heads into a groundbreaking child safety trial in New Mexico next month. The company's legal team is pushing to exclude a sweeping range of evidence - from youth mental health research to CEO Mark Zuckerberg's college history - arguing the information could unfairly influence jurors in a case that could reshape how social platforms are held accountable for protecting minors online.
Meta is about to face its biggest child safety reckoning yet, and the company wants to make sure large chunks of potentially damaging evidence never reach the jury. With less than two weeks until trial, Meta's attorneys have filed motions seeking to exclude everything from academic research on social media's mental health effects to stories about teen suicides connected to its platforms.
According to court documents reviewed by Wired, the company's wish list of banned evidence also includes Meta's financial information, its history of privacy violations, and even details about Mark Zuckerberg's time at Harvard. The company argues this material is irrelevant to the specific allegations and risks prejudicing the jury.
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez in December 2023. The state accuses Meta of creating what amounts to a breeding ground for predators by failing to implement adequate child safety measures across its platforms. Specifically, the complaint alleges Meta allowed explicit material to reach minors and didn't do enough to stop trafficking and sexual abuse facilitated through its services.
What makes this trial particularly significant is its timing and scope. Scheduled to begin February 2, it represents the first state-level case of its kind to actually make it to trial. While Meta has faced similar accusations before - including a massive multi-state lawsuit filed around the same time - New Mexico is first to the courtroom. That means whatever happens here could set precedents that ripple across dozens of other pending cases.
