A judge ruled Thursday that social media giant Meta must pay $567 million in fines. That’s on top of $375 million in penalties in March from a previous phase of the lawsuit over the harm to children’s mental health. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez was seeking three times as much. He’s a Democrat running for re-election in November. He spoke to the NPR show “Here & Now” and host Deborah Becker asked him if the amount was disappointing.
RAÚL TORREZ: No, and that's actually been a bit of a misunderstanding. When we put the $3.7 billion in front of the court, we were talking about the total amount of damages that our children had suffered in the most recent sort of mental health crisis. So this is actually in line with the kind of recovery that we wanted. But I think the more important thing to recognize is that if this judgment were replicated in in all 50 states, it would be collectively $150 billion in liability for Meta, and that goes to this larger point about whether or not this single verdict can shape behavior and shape their sort of financial calculations. We've always understood that we by ourselves couldn't do this, but by taking a lead and showing that this is a line that can be taken by other states and other jurisdictions, we fundamentally provided a blueprint for everyone else in this country and around the world to hold this company accountable.
HERE & NOW: Yes, you expect your suit to be the precedent in future suits from other states against Meta.
TORREZ: Absolutely, and more than that, even though the judge did not grant all of the injunctive relief that we've been looking for, if you read his order carefully, he was actually restrained in part because he expects the legislature and Congress to take up some of the more sweeping calls for change that we included in this case, and that's exactly what we're going to be focusing on in the upcoming legislative session here in New Mexico.
HERE & NOW: Now, Meta did make $60 billion in profits last year, so even if we just look at one suit, New Mexico's and the $1 billion, I mean, is that amount significant when you look at the total bottom line?
TORREZ: Well, again, this is a state that's a -- where we are proud and a mighty state, but we're very small and we have a small population, a small user base. If you extrapolate this verdict onto the rest of this country and the rest of the world, and Meta can be held liable for the same theories and the same damages that they've caused, that is going to be a significant financial hit to this company, and it will ultimately shape behavior for them and everyone else in the sector.
HERE & NOW: We reached out to Meta, and they sent us a statement saying that they disagree with the ruling and they will appeal. Part of the statement reads, “We will work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content.” So I wonder if this ruling stands because Meta has certainly indicated an appeal, and the money does come forward for New Mexico. Where would it go?
TORREZ: Well, the abatement fund that's been established or will be established by the court's order goes primarily to treatment. That is a comprehensive fund that the state of New Mexico can use to both deal with the mental health harms and also to educate our kids about, and our families and parents about ,the potential harm in these spaces. But what we're really trying to do is undo some of the damage from addiction and exploitation that that has been facilitated by Meta. They caused this harm. That's what the court determined, and now they're responsible for making it right.
HERE & NOW: And are you optimistic about an appeal in this particular case? When you have some someone like Meta appealing this ruling, do you think it is going to happen that there actually will be an abatement fund set up?
TORREZ: Yeah, I actually am confident in in the in the way in which we presented this case. The judge ruled definitively that this type of harm is not covered by Section 230, which is their sort of primary way to try and shield themselves from liability. I think the court rightly crafted a solution that that meets both the harm and what we want to do prospectively. So I think this is going to hold up on appeal, but more importantly, this should be a call to action for the legislature here and for Congress to take up those things that were left untouched by this order to try and finally deliver a safe experience and environment for our kids now and in the future.
HERE & NOW: And just briefly, are there any other sort of legal actions, litigation pending against Meta or other social media companies on the part of your office?
TORREZ: Absolutely, I was actually communicating with my friend [Attorney General] Rob Bonta in California last night, and you know they've got a trial date that's I think in little more than a month, with much of the same type of presentation that we made here in New Mexico, so we're just getting started. There are AGs all over the country that are going to be doing this, and that's exactly as it should be.
