By Diana Novak Jones
May 13 (Reuters) - A lawyer for Meta Platforms on Wednesday argued that New Mexico's $3.7 billion proposal to address teen mental health harms goes too far, saying it would force the company to pay for mental health care for all of the state's teenagers and not just those it allegedly hurt.
Meta attorney Alex Parkinson questioned the state's expert witness, economist Kelly O’Connell, during testimony on the eighth day of a trial over the state's lawsuit accusing Meta of designing
its platforms to addict young users. Parkinson focused on O'Connell's cost estimate for a 15-year mental health program that New Mexico is arguing Meta must fund to counteract the company’s harm to young users.
Parkinson asked O'Connell whether she understood that the program would have Meta pay for mental health care for all teens in the state, regardless of what caused their problems.
"You haven't at all attempted to determine what proportion of the 3.7 billion is completely unrelated to social media?" Parkinson asked O’Connell, who said she hadn't.
O’Connell’s calculation of the $3.7 billion figure includes more than $2.8 billion specifically for treating mental health problems in youth between the ages of 11 and 17 in the state. The program also covers public awareness campaigns, screenings and referrals.
In the trial, which does not involve a jury, the state is asking Santa Fe Judge Bryan Biedscheid to decide whether the company's platforms have created a “public nuisance” under New Mexico law — a finding that would allow him to order wide-ranging remedies aimed at curbing alleged harms to young users.
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, accusing Meta of designing its platforms to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation.
The trial, which Reuters is monitoring on Courtroom View Network, is the second phase of New Mexico's lawsuit. A jury in March found Meta violated the state’s consumer protection law by misrepresenting the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp for young users and ordered the company to pay $375 million in damages. Meta has said it will appeal that verdict.
The state has put forward experts who testified that New Mexico teens are experiencing a mental health crisis and connected increases in sleep deprivation, disordered eating and suicide risk factors to social media use.
The state rested its case on Wednesday in this phase of the trial, which began on May 4. Meta will present its own witnesses over the coming days, and Biedscheid will issue a written ruling at a later date.
In addition to funding the mental health program, New Mexico is asking Biedscheid to order Meta to make changes to its platforms. Those changes could include age verification, redesigning its algorithm to promote quality content for minors, and ending autoplay and infinite scroll for minors, according to court filings.
New Mexico's case is among thousands of lawsuits accusing Meta and other social media companies of designing products to be addictive to young people, contributing to a nationwide mental health crisis.
(Reporting by Diana Novak Jones)
