Meta threatens to pull its apps from New Mexico if forced to make ‘technologically impractical’ changes

Key Points:

• New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is seeking court-ordered changes to Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms, including banning end-to-end encryption for minors, age verification, and detecting 99% of new child sexual abuse material (CSAM), following a $375 million jury award against Meta for misleading users about product safety.
• Meta argues many of the state’s demands are vague, technologically infeasible, and would require creating New Mexico-specific apps, warning that compliance might force it to withdraw its platforms from the state entirely.
• The company contends that achieving a 99% CSAM detection rate is impossible to verify and that stricter age verification methods like ID uploads and facial scans could be less accurate and potentially violate federal children’s privacy laws.
• Torrez accuses Meta of prioritizing profit over child safety and insists the company has the capability to implement the changes, citing its history of adapting products for market access and other demands.
• Meta proposes modest adjustments to its existing age assurance tools and law enforcement support, while Torrez warns that similar legal actions by other states could limit Meta’s operations across the US if it refuses to comply.