New Mexico, Meta to face off again in court

New Mexico isn't done with Meta yet.

Attorneys for New Mexico and the social media giant will face off again in May to determine if Meta created a public nuisance and whether it must fund programs to mitigate alleged harms to New Mexico children.

A jury on Tuesday found that Meta —  the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — failed to protect New Mexico children and ordered the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties for violations of the state's Unfair Practices Act.

The jury reached the verdict in less than a day following a six-week trial in 1st Judicial District Court before Chief Judge Bryan Biedscheid.

Following the verdict, Meta responded that it disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal. "We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online,” a Meta spokesman said in an email.

State Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed the suit against Meta Platforms and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2023, alleging the company failed to protect children from sexual abuse, online solicitation and human trafficking. The suit alleged both violation of the Unfair Practices Act and creating a public nuisance.

The second phase of New Mexico's legal action against Meta begins May 4 when Biedscheid has scheduled a bench trial, without a jury, to consider the state's public nuisance claim.

Torrez told CNBC on Wednesday that the New Mexico will seek injunctive relief to provide greater protections for teenagers who use Meta platforms.

“That means changes to the design features of the platform itself, real age verification, changes to the algorithm, an independent monitor to oversee those changes, and fundamentally, a demand that they do business differently in New Mexico,” Torrez told CNBC.

The New Mexico Department of Justice said in an email that the state will seek a court order requiring Meta to pay additional damages and make specific changes to Meta’s products and operations.

On Wednesday, a jury in Los Angeles found Meta and YouTube must pay $3 million in damages to a 20-year-old woman who alleged she became addicted to the platforms, worsening her mental health struggles.

The California jury recommended an additional $3 million in punitive damages after finding the companies acted with malice or fraud in harming children on their platforms.

Public nuisance claim

In a Jan. 13 court filing, New Mexico argued that the state was entitled to a jury trial on claims under the state's Unfair Practices Act, "but not on its public nuisance claim."

In its lawsuit, the state alleged that Meta’s platforms create a public nuisance in several ways, including "enabling human trafficking to occur in New Mexico" and enabling the distribution of child sexual abuse material. The platforms also contribute to “an increase in suicide, eating disorders, depression, bullying and other harms” to New Mexico children, the suit alleges.

A Meta spokesman denied the allegations in an email this week. "We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content," the statement said.

In the second phase of the trial, the judge will determine whether Meta's platforms created a public nuisance and whether the company must fund programs to address the alleged harms.

“We will be asking for more financial relief for the state of New Mexico to remedy that, to help support our kids and create a safe digital environment,” Torrez told CNBC.