ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Attorney General Raúl Torrez has taken legal action against Meta Platforms, Inc., its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and associated subsidiaries, including Instagram, LLC and Facebook Holdings, LLC, in a lawsuit aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse, online solicitation, and human trafficking.
Attorney General Torrez stated, 'Our investigation into Meta’s social media platforms demonstrates that they are not safe spaces for children but rather prime locations for predators to trade child pornography and solicit minors for sex. As a career prosecutor who specialized in internet crimes against children, I am committed to using every available tool to put an end to these horrific practices, and I will hold companies— and their executives—accountable whenever they put profits ahead of children’s safety.'
The lawsuit comes after an extensive undercover investigation conducted by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office over the past few months. Decoy accounts of children aged 14 and younger were created to gather evidence, revealing alarming findings:
1. Meta platforms proactively served explicit content to underage users, even when they expressed no interest in such material.
2. Dozens of adults were able to contact and coerce children into providing explicit images or participating in pornographic videos.
3. Children were recommended to join unmoderated Facebook groups dedicated to facilitating commercial sex.
4. Facebook and Instagram users were allowed to find, share, and sell a large volume of child pornography.
5. A fictitious mother was able to offer her 13year-old daughter for sale to sex traffickers and create a professional page for her daughter to share revenue from advertising.
Attorney General Torrez criticized Meta's executives, stating, 'Mr. Zuckerberg and other Meta executives are aware of the serious harm their products can pose to young users, and yet they have failed to make sufficient changes to their platforms that would prevent the sexual exploitation of children. Despite repeated assurances to Congress and the public that they can be trusted to police themselves, it is clear that Meta’s executives continue to prioritize engagement and ad revenue over the safety of the most vulnerable members of our society.'
The lawsuit also highlights Meta's failure to remove Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) from its platforms and its role in enabling adults to exploit underage users for pornographic content and commercial sex. The complaint further details how Meta's platform design negatively affects the mental health and safety of children and teenagers.
Investigators discovered that certain child exploitative content is over ten times more prevalent on Facebook and Instagram than on adult content platforms like Pornhub and OnlyFans. While some explicit content was included in the complaint, many graphic and disturbing images found on Meta's platforms were excluded.
The Attorney General's Office encourages parents and children who have experienced sexual exploitation, addiction, depression, eating disorders, or other mental health issues due to social media use to come forward and share their experiences.
The Tech Oversight Project issued the following statement applauding New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez for suing Meta for sexual harassment, exploitation, and trafficking of minors on its platforms.
“The Attorney General’s disturbing findings underscore the urgent need for New Mexico legislators to pass Age-Appropriate Design Code legislation to protect young people from predatory dangers online,” said Marjorie Connolly, Communications Director at The Tech Oversight Project. “Companies like Meta have known for years that they endanger kids, exposing them to unwanted sexual contact, and even making it harder for kids to report sexual harassment. The findings are sickening and prove that in New Mexico, we need to act now by-passing safetyby- design and privacy-bydefault protections that keep young people safe.”