* Court-ordered changes could affect social media

platforms significantly

* New Mexico may seek restrictions on content for minors,

'infinite scroll'

* State may seek greater award in second phase of trial

By Jeff Horwitz and Diana Novak Jones

NEW YORK, March 26 - Talk about regulating social media

to make it safer for children often gravitates around the U.S.

Capitol and the EU headquarters in Brussels. But following a New

Mexico jury verdict, a district court in Santa Fe carries some

heft, too.

On Tuesday, a jury found Meta liable for violating New

Mexico's consumer protection laws and endangering children by

enabling child sexual exploitation on its platforms, imposing a

$375 million penalty. The verdict sets up a second phase of the

case in May, when Judge Bryan Biedscheid is scheduled to hold a

bench trial on the state's claims that Meta created a "public

nuisance" that harmed residents' health and safety. That

proceeding could result in the court ordering changes to the

design of Facebook, Instagram and other apps used by teenagers.

This power to compel product changes sets New Mexico's case

apart from thousands of private suits filed on behalf of

plaintiffs alleging Meta's services harmed them, like another

landmark social media addiction case in Los Angeles that Meta

and Google lost this week.

New Mexico's win also bolsters states seeking to assert

themselves in compelling change at tech companies amid paralysis

in Washington, including legislation requiring tougher

age-checking measures and restricting algorithmic feeds for

young people.

NEW MEXICO EYES OPTIONS FOR META CHANGES

In an interview, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez

laid out a wide range of prospective changes to Meta's products

that the state may pursue. They include asking the court to

restrict the types of content recommended to minors, to limit

the frequency and timing of social media notifications prodding

teenagers to log on, to restrict the "infinite scroll" of

content for children and to tighten age verification procedures.

The state will also propose a plan to mitigate harm already

done by Meta's products to New Mexico residents.

"It's not out of the realm of possibility that we ask for

and receive an even greater award" at the second stage of the

trial than the first, Torrez said. "But my perspective has been

to focus on the changes of the product itself."

Torrez, a Democrat, said the state would likely ask

Biedscheid to appoint an independent monitor or special master

who would oversee Meta's compliance with New Mexico consumer

protection law over the course of years.

"I'm not sure at the initial stage we're going to be

articulating a super specific path in terms of what the court

would do," he said.

Attorneys general have increasingly turned to public nuisance

law, a legal doctrine that allows governments to sue over

conduct they say unreasonably interferes with public health or

safety, to target industries accused of causing widespread

social harm, including opioid manufacturers.

LIABILITY SHIELD IN FOCUS

Even if successful, New Mexico's effort faces a long road.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the company would appeal the

original jury verdict and that "we will continue to defend

ourselves vigorously."

The appeal is expected to raise questions about Section 230

of the Communications Decency Act, the federal law that has long

shielded tech companies from liability over user-generated

content.

Stone noted that Meta has made numerous safety upgrades to

its platforms since the suit was filed - some that overlap with

features sought by Torrez. The company has launched dedicated

accounts for teen users with notifications turned off by default

at night, added age verification features and announced its

intention to filter out age-inappropriate content.

Meta recently said it was removing end-to-end encryption

from Instagram's messaging feature. While Meta said it is

removing encryption due to lack of use, the change was

celebrated by child safety advocates.

The company indicated it would continue offering encrypted

messaging on WhatsApp, without addressing its plans for

Facebook's Messenger.

Max Willens, an analyst for eMarketer, said he was skeptical

New Mexico would be able to force changes to the content

recommendation systems at the core of Facebook and Instagram.

"Algorithm modification is not a likely remedy, but it is

among the list of possible changes that could be required," he

said. "The second phase of this trial may be more consequential

to social media platforms than the first."

Court-ordered relief is even more difficult to secure for

individual plaintiffs, noted Matthew Bergman of the Social Media

Victims Law Center, one of the attorneys representing the

plaintiff in the Los Angeles case that alleged Meta, YouTube and

other social media companies negligently designed their products

in ways that harmed users' mental health.

On Wednesday, a jury awarded the woman a $6 million combined

judgment against Meta and Google, in what is widely regarded as

a test case for thousands of cases alleging similar harm.

Torrez acknowledged that regulating global social media

platforms' approach to online youth via state courts was

"probably not the most efficient" way of tackling social media

product design, but said he did not want to "wait any longer for

a system to deliver what it should have 15 years ago."

He added while New Mexico's case is focused on child

predation and grooming, the dozens of state attorneys general

pursuing cases against Meta for damaging youth mental health

more broadly also aim to force changes to products. Since the

verdict, Torrez said his office has fielded questions from other

states and regulatory bodies overseas.

"I have an expectation that Meta is in for a wave of

litigation," he said. "I've been real clear with colleagues that

they could set up undercover investigations on these platforms

right now and yield the same results."