New Mexicos proposed kids safety fixes for Instagram, Facebook may go too far, judge warns

The state judge overseeing New Mexico’s attempt to force a safety overhaul of Instagram and Facebook said Monday that he’s worried some of the proposed changes would amount to “overreach.”New Mexico attorney general Raúl Torrez is pushing for extensive changes and up to $3.7 billion in penalties after a state jury ruled last month that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta had failed to protect kids from sexual predators.Judge Bryan Biedscheid is presiding over a second trial to determine which of those requested remedies are appropriate.“I am a judge, ​I am not a legislator, I am not a regulator,” Biedscheid said as the second phase began on Monday.Biedscheid added that his goal was to ensure any court-ordered fixes would address the proven harms of Instagram and Facebook without him becoming a “one-person legislature.”The judge will rule on whether Meta’s failings constitute a “public nuisance” under state law, which would allow him to order remedies.

The jury previously ordered Meta to pay $375 million in damages.“The changes we’re seeking are reasonable, achievable, and supported by child safety and technology experts,” Torrez said in a statement ahead of the trial.“There is no credible argument against them, only a company that has decided its bottom line matters more than the safety of kids.”As The Post reported, Meta has already threatened to cut off access to Instagram and Faceook entirely if the judge orders “impractical” safety features to be implemented.

The social media giant claims Torrez’s “requests for relief are so broad and so burdensome” that no one could realistically comply with them.Torrez fired back, asserting that Meta’s threats were little more than a PR stunt and that the company was “showing the world how little it cares about child safety.”New Mexico’s proposed fixes include implementing an effective age verification process for accounts; recommendation algorithms that prioritize user safety over b...