Meta has been fighting lawsuits from coast to coast over how Facebook and Instagram harm kids.
But the company never expected to face this legal strategy.
And Mark Zuckerberg was blindsided by one state's undercover operation that could sink Meta.
New Mexico Posed as 14-Year-Olds and Caught Meta Red-Handed
The first stand-alone trial from a state prosecutor against Meta kicked off in New Mexico with jury selection.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez built his case using an undercover investigation that posed as children on Facebook and Instagram.
Investigators created decoy accounts for minors 14 and younger and documented what happened when predators showed up.
Sexual solicitations flooded in.
Adult predators sent graphic images of genitalia in direct messages and made horrific statements about having sex with children.
Meta's response when investigators reported the behavior?
Profits over kids' safety every single time.
Torrez took the evidence from "Operation MetaPhile" and charged three men with felony child solicitation in 2024.
Now he's using those same undercover accounts to go after Meta in civil court for creating a "marketplace" and "breeding ground" for predators.
States Finally Found the Legal Weapon to Crack Big Tech's Shield
More than 40 state attorneys general sued Meta over deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms.
Most filed in federal court where Meta hides behind Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
That 30-year-old law shields tech companies from liability for user-posted content.
Silicon Valley has used it as a get-out-of-jail-free card while children suffered.
New Mexico found the workaround.
Torrez isn't going after Meta for what predators post.
He's targeting Meta's algorithms that actively push harmful content to children and connect predators with victims.
Eric Goldman, codirector of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law, explained why attorneys general nationwide are watching.
"So many regulators are keyed up looking for any evidence of a legal theory that would punish social media that a victory in that case could have ripple effects throughout the country, and the globe," Goldman said.
If prosecutors prove Meta's design features and algorithms promote exploitation, Section 230 doesn't protect that.
Zuckerberg Knew 100,000 Kids Per Day Were Being Harassed
Meta claims prosecutors are being "sensationalist" and cherry-picking documents.
Zuckerberg's lawyers got him dropped as a defendant.
But he's already been deposed and his name is all over the internal documents.
Those documents destroy Meta's defense.
A 2021 Meta presentation showed 100,000 kids every day got sexually harassed on its platforms, including pictures of adult genitalia.
Read that again.
100,000 children.
Every single day.
An internal 2022 audit found Instagram's "Accounts You May Follow" feature recommended 1.4 million potentially inappropriate adults to teenage users in one day.
By 2023, Meta knew the algorithm was recommending minors to suspicious adults and vice versa.
The company had the solution ready.
Default privacy settings for all teen accounts.
But Meta didn't roll them out until 2024.
For four years, billions of unwanted interactions between strangers and children happened while Zuckerberg sat on the fix.
Why the delay?
Engagement metrics and advertising revenue matter more than protecting kids from predators.
Former Instagram head of safety Vaishnavi Jayakumar testified about Meta's "17x" strike policy for accounts trafficking humans for sex.
Predators could rack up 16 violations for prostitution and sexual solicitation before getting suspended on the 17th strike.
Meta wanted predators buying ads and generating engagement for as long as possible.
The Math Gets Ugly Fast for Zuckerberg
The trial runs through late March with opening statements February 9.
A Santa Fe County jury will decide if Meta violated New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act.
Penalties hit $5,000 per violation.
Meta's own tracking system is about to destroy the company.
Mollie McGraw, a Las Cruces-based plaintiff's attorney, explained why.
"Meta keeps track of everyone who sees a post," McGraw said.
That means every harmful interaction counts as a separate violation.
Meta documented 100,000 children per day receiving sexual harassment.
Do the math on four years of that at $5,000 per violation.
Zuckerberg's legal team knows exactly how catastrophic a loss would be.
"If they lose this," Goldman said, "it becomes another beachhead that might erode their basic business."
Meta is throwing enormous resources at this case.
They have to.
A California trial started this week over thousands of similar lawsuits.
School districts are suing in federal court starting in June.
Meta faces tens of billions in potential damages across all cases.
But New Mexico's undercover operation strategy punches through Section 230 in a way federal cases can't.
If Torrez wins, every state attorney general in America will file copycat cases using consumer protection laws.
Zuckerberg's 30-year liability shield shatters.
Parents finally get accountability for Big Tech's war on their children.
This trial will reshape how America prosecutes Silicon Valley for exploiting kids.
Sources:
- Morgan Lee, "Undercover investigation of Meta heads to trial in New Mexico in first stand-alone case by state," The Washington Times, February 1, 2026.
- Mollie McGraw interview, The Boston Globe, February 1, 2026.
- Eric Goldman interview, The Washington Times, February 1, 2026.
- New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez interview, TechPolicy.Press, August 12, 2024.
- "The Allegations Against Meta in Newly Unsealed Court Filings," TIME, November 23, 2025.
- "Meta Lawsuit Overview," Social Media Victims Law Center, December 20, 2022.
