New Mexico Attorney General Urges Judge to Force Meta to Pay Billions, Implement Platform Redesigns

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Monday requested that a judge declare Meta Platforms Inc. a public nuisance and require the company to pay $3.7 billion, while also requiring wide-scale changes to its Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms to protect young users from alleged harms.

The request was made during the second phase of a lawsuit following a March jury verdict finding Meta liable for violating the state’s consumer protection law by misinforming users about platform safety for children. That jury verdict required Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties, which the company has said it will appeal.

Internal Meta documents and testimony received by the New Mexico Department of Justice, as detailed in public records and the state’s press releases, show repeated warnings from company employees and child safety experts about the platforms’ dangers. Evidence demonstrated that design features allowed pedophiles and predators to trick children into sexual exploitation, according to the department.

“Across the country, children are begging for help,” David Ackerman, an attorney for New Mexico, told the judge in opening statements. “You will hear testimony that confirms there is a mental health crisis, and that it is fueled and caused by social media. We need to fix it.”

The new portion of the trial homes in on whether Meta’s platforms constitute a public nuisance under New Mexico law. A finding in the state’s favor could enable the judge to implement solutions. Torrez’s office seeks billions to address youth mental health harms and orders substantial platform modifications for New Mexico users, including age verification, algorithm changes to promote quality content for minors, and the removal of autoplay and infinite scroll features for young people.

Meta argues it has implemented safety efforts and fought back against direct links between its platforms and youth mental health problems. Attorney Alex Parkinson argued that the state had not shown interference with a “public right” and likened the claims to those for other everyday products.

If social media is a public nuisance, “then so is alcohol because of drunk driving, so are cell phones because of distracted driving, so are supermarkets that sell junk food,” Parkinson said.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid said he was concerned ahead of opening statements that certain requested changes could amount to “overreach.”

“I am a judge, I am not a legislator, I am not a regulator,” Biedscheid said.

He emphasized addressing proven harms without turning the court into a “one-person legislature.”

Ackerman argued that Meta only acts when forced.

“Meta doesn’t impose or implement safety procedures until it is forced to do so,” he said.

New Mexico became the first state to win a trial against a major tech company for misleading consumers and endangering children, according to the New Mexico Department of Justice. The verdict followed the presentation of internal documents showing Meta prioritized growth over safety.

The original complaint was filed in December 2023. It alleged Meta and its executives did not adequately address child sexual abuse material and allowed adults to solicit underage users, as outlined in court filings from the state attorney general’s office.

Reuters contributed to this report