Jury hears from disillusioned Meta researcher at New Mexico trial

By Mike Swift and Xu Yuan ( February 20, 2026, 00:28 GMT | Insight) -- With the trial against Meta Platforms brought by the New Mexico attorney general now deep into its second week, the jury on Thursday heard from a former user experience researcher at Meta, an investigator for the New Mexico attorney general and an expert witness for the state who said that 11.5 million minors in the US — about one in six people under 18 — have experienced “technology-facilitated child sexual abuse.” Most sexual abuse in the US now occurs on social media, said the state's expert, Jennifer O'Brien.Meta Platforms valued user engagement over the health of young users, a jury in New Mexico heard Thursday from a disillusioned former company researcher, as trial testimony continued about pedophiles’ access to young users on Facebook and Instagram....

Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today

MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.

Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:

Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline

Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.

Start Free Trial

Already a subscriber? Click here to login

Jury hears from disillusioned Meta researcher at New Mexico trial

Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today

Related Sections