New Mexico demands billion-dollar fine and app adjustments from Meta

In New Mexico, the second part of a trial against Meta has begun, concerning the harm to minors. The demands are far-reaching.

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May 5, 2026 at 9:02 am CEST

2 min. read

By

Martin Holland

After a jury ordered Meta to pay a multi-million dollar fine for knowingly harming children, the New Mexico Department of Justice is demanding $3.7 billion and extensive changes to Facebook & Co. The local newspaper Santa Fe New Mexican reports after the start on Monday. This is the second part of a trial, the first part of which ended with a fine of over 375 million US dollars against Meta because the Facebook and Instagram company allegedly knowingly endangered the health of children. Now consequences must be decided, and New Mexico's Attorney General Raúl Torrez has made far-reaching demands for this.

Functioning age verification

In addition to the billion-dollar fine, Torrez is demanding that Meta implement age verification on its platforms that functions with 99 percent accuracy, the newspaper reports. Furthermore, any communication between minors and users from areas identified as hotspots for sexual exploitation should be blocked. Notifications from Instagram & Co. should be restricted during school hours, and the total time minors are allowed to spend on Meta's platforms should be limited. Additionally, the algorithms that decide what minors see should be changed. The automatic playback of content and endless scrolling should be completely switched off for them, Reuters adds.

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According to the news agency, a Meta lawyer stated that the company is willing to make changes. However, what Torrez is demanding goes too far. If they had to be implemented, it would make it “untenable” for Meta to continue operating in the US state: “This is not a PR stunt, it is not a threat,” he claimed. Torrez has reportedly rejected the accusation, stating that “none of the things we are asking for are either technically infeasible or impractical.” The changes would merely be costly. However, it would be worth it to create an environment where families would be safe. The responsible judge has reportedly promised that abuses will be rectified. However, he is not a legislator.