Judge allows video streaming of Meta trial in Santa Fe

A judge on Monday rejected a request by digital giant Meta to bar live streaming of a trial scheduled to begin next week in Santa Fe in which the social media company will defend itself from allegations that it fails to protect minors from sexual exploitation.

Meta argued that video and audio streaming would expose Meta employees to security threats "not just while they're here in New Mexico to testify, but also when they return home," attorney Melanie Stambaugh said Monday.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, in 2023 alleging the parent company of Facebook and Instagram failed to protect children from sexual abuse, online solicitation and human trafficking.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe before Judge Bryan Biedscheid.

Video and audio broadcasts "exponentially increase these security risks because it would provide bad actors with concrete knowledge about the name, physical appearance and real-time location of the Meta employees who may testify in this case," Stambaugh argued.

She also argued that live streaming the trial, and the potentially graphic images likely to emerge as evidence, also would hinder Meta's right to a fair trial in other pending civil cases.

Jury selection began this week in a related case in California Superior Court in Los Angeles in a lawsuit alleging that Meta Platforms, TikTok and YouTube have fueled a youth mental health crisis.

Biedscheid responded Monday that concerns about security and future trials doesn't outweigh the public's right to observe judicial proceedings.

"It's just true the courtroom is of limited size and not every member of the public who might be interested in the trial is able to participate in person," Biedscheid said. "I do not see that we cannot conduct a fair trial in this matter with the media having full access to the proceeding."

Biedscheid said he could reconsider if witness intimidation or media distraction becomes an issue in the trial.

Chief Deputy Attorney General James Grayson argued Monday that removing video cameras from the courtroom wouldn't prevent any of the potential harms Meta raised in their arguments. Meta had not sought to remove print media or still photographers from the courtroom, which would reveal the names of witnesses and the substance of the evidence, Grayson said.

"So Meta's justification for limiting audio and video recording is not based on the security of its employees, because all of the information Meta wants to protect can be public without that limitation," he said.

The suit filed by the New Mexico Department of Justice alleges that the design of Instagram and Facebook have resulted in minors having access to child sexual abuse materials and child predator accounts in violations of New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act.