The Verge·Apr 30, 2026

🚨New Mexico AG Demands Meta Changes: End-to-End Encryption Ban for Minors

Meta Fights Back Against State Demanding Major Platform Changes

TL;DR

New Mexico is demanding Meta remove end-to-end encryption for minors and verify ages. Meta says it's too vague and would violate privacy laws.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez wants Meta to ban end-to-end encryption for minors, implement strict age verification, and detect 99% of new child sexual abuse material on its platforms. The state claims these measures are necessary to protect children online. However, Meta argues that complying with such demands would be impractical due to vague requirements and potential privacy violations under federal law. For example, the company points out it can't retain data needed for age classification without violating laws protecting minors' privacy.

New Mexico AG Demands Meta Changes: End-to-End Encryption Ban for Minors

Key Points

1

New Mexico Attorney General wants Meta to ban E2EE for minors under 18

2

Meta claims 99% detection rate of new child sexual abuse material is unattainable

3

Company argues age verification methods like ID uploads could be less accurate

4

Federal children's privacy law prevents retaining data necessary for classification

5

Dozens of AGs across the US are pursuing similar actions against social media

Why It Matters

If you're a developer working on child safety features, Meta's resistance shows how complex compliance can be. For instance, achieving 99% detection accuracy might require invasive data collection that violates privacy laws. This could limit what platforms can do to protect minors online.

MetaNew Mexico AGchild safetyend-to-end encryption

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this matter?

If you're a developer working on child safety features, Meta's resistance shows how complex compliance can be. For instance, achieving 99% detection accuracy might require invasive data collection that violates privacy laws. This could limit what platforms can do to protect minors online.

What happened?

New Mexico is demanding Meta remove end-to-end encryption for minors and verify ages. Meta says it's too vague and would violate privacy laws.

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