SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A trial focused on the dangers of child sexual exploitation on social media and whether Meta misrepresented the safety of its platforms is set to start in New Mexico with opening statements Monday.
It's the first stand-alone trial from state prosecutors in a stream of lawsuits against major social media companies, including Meta, over harm to children, and one that is likely to highlight explicit online content and its effects.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued Meta in 2023. His team built the case by posing as kids through social media accounts, then documenting the arrival of sexual solicitations as well as the response by Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Prosecutors say they’ll provide evidence and testimony that Meta’s algorithms and account features enticed and addicted young people to social media, while also creating a “breeding ground” for predators who target children for sexual exploitation. Prosecutors allege Meta failed to disclose what it knew about those harmful effects, in violation of state consumer protection laws. Meta also is accused of creating a public nuisance.
“Meta knowingly exposes children to the twin dangers of sexual exploitation and mental health harm,” the lawsuit states. “Meta’s motive for doing so is profit.”
Meta denies any legal violations and says prosecutors are cherry-picking evidence to make sensationalist arguments. On Sunday, Meta called the state’s investigation “ethically compromised” in its use of child photos on proxy accounts, delays in reporting child sexual abuse material and the disposal of data from devices used in the investigation, in social media posts on X by company spokesperson Andy Stone.
The company says lawsuits are attempting to place the blame for teen mental health struggles on social media companies in a way that oversimplifies matters. Meta says it has a longstanding commitment to supporting young people, highlighting a steady addition of account settings and tools — including safety features that give teens more information about the person they’re chatting with and content restrictions based on PG-13 movie ratings.
“For over a decade, we’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted in-depth research to understand the issues that matter most," the company said in a statement. “We’re proud of the progress we’ve made."
It's unclear whether Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify at trial. New Mexico limits the ability to compel out-of-state witnesses to testify in person, while prosecutors can present testimony by Zuckerberg from a deposition.
Personal opinions of Zuckerberg and evolving attitudes toward social media loomed over jury selection from a pool of more than 200 residents of Santa Fe County, including several educators, young adults who grew up with social media and others who never signed up.
“Quite frankly, he's the tech bro making money off of all of us," one person said of Zuckerberg.
An attorney for the state warned that there would be “very sensitive and very explicit material discussed in terms of safety to children” during the trial.
More than 40 state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against Meta, claiming it is deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms. The majority filed their lawsuits in federal court, and New Mexico's case against Meta is the first to reach trial.
Opening statements have been postponed in a bellwether trial underway in California against social video companies, including Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube, that focuses on a 19-year-old who claims her use of social media from an early age addicted her to technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. TikTok and Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. settled claims in the case.
Torrez, a Democrat seeking reelection this year to a second term, has urged Meta to implement more effective age verification and remove bad actors from its platform. He’s also seeking changes to algorithms that can serve up harmful material and criticizing end-to-end privacy encryption that can prevent the monitoring of communications with children for safety.
FILE - New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez discusses the nexus of public safety, mental health and adverse child experiences during a news conference following a summit in Albuquerque, N.M., Nov. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)
FILE - Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during an event at the Biohub Imaging Institute in Redwood City, Calif., Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE -A Meta logo is shown on a video screen at LlamaCon 2025, an AI developer conference, in Menlo Park, Calif., April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and President Donald Trump urged the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.
Iranian state media, citing the Red Crescent, on Saturday evening said at least 201 people had been killed. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region, and exchanges of fire continued into the night.
Some of the first strikes on Iran appeared to hit near the offices of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Smoke rose from the capital as part of strikes that Iranian media said occurred nationwide.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are alive “as far as I know,” and called the attack “unprovoked, illegal and absolutely illegitimate.”
In a video announcing the “major combat operations," Trump told Iranians that “when we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations."
The strikes during the holy fasting month of Ramadan opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention in Iran, marking the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has attacked the Islamic Republic during talks over its nuclear program.
The targets included members of Iran's leadership, according to a U.S. official and another person briefed on the attacks who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation. There was no immediate information on whether top officials were killed.
Even if Iran's top leaders are killed, regime change is not guaranteed. Neither the U.S. nor Israel have articulated a vision for what new leadership might look like.
Democrats decried that Trump had taken action without congressional authorization. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the administration had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance.
The U.N. Security Council said it would meet Saturday afternoon. In a letter to the council, Araghchi said “all bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile forces in the region shall be regarded as legitimate military objectives.”
Iran also requested an urgent session of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors about “these threats to safeguarded nuclear facilities,” according to a letter posted by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.
The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said on X it was closely monitoring developments and had seen “no evidence of radiological impact.”
And Iran was in a “near-total internet blackout,” advocacy group NetBlocks said, complicating connections with the outside world.
Tensions have soared in recent weeks as American warships moved into the region. Trump said he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program at a moment when the country is struggling at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests.
The immediate trigger for Saturday’s strikes appeared to be the unsuccessful latest round of nuclear talks. But they also reflected dramatic changes that have left Iran’s leadership in its weakest position since the Islamic Revolution nearly half a century ago.
Israeli and American strikes last June greatly weakened Iran’s air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program. A regionwide war, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, has left Iran’s network of proxies across the Middle East greatly weakened. U.S. sanctions and global isolation, meanwhile, have decimated Iran’s economy.
Iran responded to the latest strikes by launching missiles and drones targeting Israel and strikes targeting U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Israel’s military said Iran fired “dozens” of missiles at Israel, with many intercepted and no serious injuries reported. Emergency responder Magen David Adom noted 89 “lightly injured” people.
At least three explosions were heard Saturday evening near the Intelligence Ministry building in northern Tehran, witnesses said, adding that air defense systems had begun operating in the area. Israel's military said it had begun a new wave of strikes against missile launchers and aerial defense systems in central Iran.
In southern Iran, at least 85 people were reported killed after a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, the local governor told Iranian state TV.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said he was “aware of reports” that a girls' school was struck and they were looking into them.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA said at least 15 people were killed in the southwest, quoting the governor of Lamerd, Ali Alizadeh, as saying a sports hall, two residential areas and a hall near a school were hit.
Flights across the Middle East were disrupted, and air defense fire thudded over Dubai, the United Arab Emirates' commercial capital. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the UAE capital killed one person, state media said.
“Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined,” Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, a key mediator of the nuclear talks in Switzerland and Oman, said on X. “Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this."
Israel said the operation has been planned for months with the United States. Air Force pilots were striking “hundreds of targets across Iran” in coordination with U.S. strikes, Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a statement.
Targets in the Israeli campaign included Iran’s military, symbols of government and intelligence targets, according to an official briefed on the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information on the attack.
Trump, in seeking to justify the military action, claimed Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program, despite asserting last year the program had been “obliterated” by an earlier round of strikes.
He acknowledged Saturday that there could be American casualties, saying “that often happens in war.” It was a notable statement from a U.S. leader who swept into office on an “America First” platform and vowed to keep out of “forever wars.”
Trump listed grievances beyond the nuclear program, saying he was aiming to “annihilate” the Iranian navy and destroy regional proxies supported by Tehran. He called on the paramilitary Iranian Revolutionary Guard to lay down arms, saying members would be given immunity or face “certain death” if they didn’t.
Iran had said it hoped to avert a war, but maintained its right to enrich uranium. Its leaders did not want to discuss other issues, such as its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iran has said it hasn’t enriched since June, but it has blocked international inspectors from visiting the sites the U.S. bombed. Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press have shown new activity at two of those sites, suggesting Iran is trying to assess and potentially recover material.
Trump had threatened military action but held off following Iran's recent crackdown on protests spurred by economic grievances that evolved into a nationwide, anti-government push against the ruling clerics.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency says it confirmed more than 7,000 deaths in the crackdown and is investigating thousands more. The government has acknowledged more than 3,000 killed.
Now, Iranians are likely to be wary about taking to the streets again because the Revolutionary Guard has demonstrated its ruthlessness, said Kamran Matin, an expert on Iran at the University of Sussex in southern England.
The strikes could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran is able to make the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic. A third of total worldwide oil exports transported by sea passed through the strait in 2025.
Saudi Arabia said in state-run media that Iran had targeted its capital and its eastern region in an attack that was repelled. Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in the island kingdom.
Kuwait’s civil aviation authority said a drone targeted the main international airport, injuring several employees. Kuwait’s state-run news agency said three troops were injured by shrapnel from strikes that hit Ali Al-Salem air base. Explosions could also be heard in Qatar. Jordan said it “dealt with” 49 drones and ballistic missiles.
The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen vowed to resume attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and on Israel, according to two senior Houthi officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement.
U.S. embassies or consulates in Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Israel and Karachi, Pakistan, told staffers to shelter in place and recommended all Americans “do the same until further notice.”
Toropin and Madhani reported from Washington and Boak from West Palm Beach, Florida. Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show that IRNA reported 40 people were killed in the school strike, without specifying students.
A woman holds a picture of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a demonstration in support of the government and against U.S. and Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People rush to take shelter as warning sirens sound following missile fired towards Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Civilians staying in a shelter after alarms announced that Israel had launched an attack on Iran, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
People watch as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.(AP Photo)
Smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.(AP Photo)
Smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.(AP Photo)
Smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
FILE -Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz makes statements with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias after their meeting in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
