Meta Faces Billion-Dollar Public-Nuisance Fight in New Mexico
Meta is back in a New Mexico courthouse for a bench trial to determine if its apps amount to a public nuisance, with the state seeking about $3.7 billion in abatement costs and injunctive relief after a prior $375 million verdict for willful unfair practices; the remedies could force major product changes such as age-verification, algorithm tweaks, and independent monitoring, and Meta has warned it could even suspend access in the state if demands are not workable. The case is part of a broader wave of tech liability litigation, including a California federal case and a Los Angeles trial where Meta and YouTube were fined for alleged harms from addictive use.