Documentary on dangers of social media shown in New Mexico to highlight state’s fight against Meta

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Kristin Bride describes her 16-year old son, Carson, as the comedian of her family, with an amazing smile and laugh. He was smart and loved acting. 

But a “huge hole remains in her heart” since Carson died by suicide in 2020 after being cyberbullied on Snapchat. 

“We didn’t know that Snapchat allowed an anonymous app to be integrated into the platform,” Bride said. “The last search on Carson’s phone before he ended his life was for hacks” to find the people harassing him with anonymous messages. 

Bride added that she blames the social media company for her son’s death.

Since Carson died, Bride’s advocacy for social media reform has taken her to Congress, where she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and now to New Mexico, for a screening of “Your Attention Please.” The new documentary illustrates social media’s effects on mental health and youth safety, while highlighting social media reform advocates like Bride.

Bride attended the screening Friday at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque and spoke on a panel afterward with Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and state Sen. Antonio Maestas (D-Albuquerque).

Showing the film in New Mexico was important because of recent courtroom showdowns between the state and social media behemoth Meta, said Jack LeMay, writer and editor of “Your Attention Please.”

“New Mexico is a small state with big state energy,” LeMay said. “New Mexico is leading the charge nationally in trying to hold these companies accountable. It’s a huge inspiration to bring our film here.”

On Sept. 25, a New Mexico jury found Facebook willfully engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices regarding collection of user data, misinformation and hate speech on the platform. Attorneys representing the state requested a district court judge fine Facebook up to $40 billion in violation penalties. Attorneys representing Meta said the state is “trying to take advantage” of the jury’s ruling and “run up the score on penalties.”

In August, First Judicial District Judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered the company to pay $567 million for an abatement fund aimed at ameliorating harms done to the state’s youth. Meta said it intends to appeal.

And in March, a Santa Fe jury ordered Meta — Facebook’s parent company — to pay $375 million in damages to the state after it found the company misrepresented the risks to teen users’ mental health. 

The judgments are “definitely a victory,” Bride said during the panel. 

“I’m just so thankful to New Mexico and the other attorneys general that have gotten further than we’ve been able to get in D.C.,” Bride said. 

The film highlights Bride’s fight to pass the proposed Kids Online Safety Act, a 2024 federal bill that would impose stricter privacy rules and safeguards for children on the internet and social media. The bipartisan bill passed in the U.S. Senate in July 2024, but died in the House.

The federal proposal and the judgments against Meta in New Mexico, Torrez said, led to the creation of a proposed bill for the upcoming 2027 legislative session. Torrez announced plans to press for the Online Safety and Accountability Act Sept. 23 with state Rep. Linda Serrato (D-Santa Fe) and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland. It would require that developers make products with youth-specific features, including a chronological feed; a two-hour daily social media default limit; silenced notifications overnight and during school hours; and automatic blocks on profiles that exhibit sexual extortion or grooming behaviors. 

“The most important thing that we could do to help our kids is to bring about the change that we weren’t seeing in Washington,” Torrez said Friday during the panel. 

“Your Attention Please” also shows states which have passed legislation to ban phones during school hours. Maestas added that he and Sen. Crystal Brantley (R-Elephant Butte) intend to reintroduce Senate Bill 23, which died last legislative session, that would implement a bell-to-bell ban on cell phone usage in New Mexico schools. Maestas said he thinks the bill will pass in the next session with the “momentum and awareness that folks have.”

“Your Attention Please” director Sara Robin said the conversation around social media harm has changed since she first started the project in 2023 and New Mexico’s actions could inspire further change.

“For the longest time, we thought it may not be possible to take these companies to court,” Robin said. “We’re seeing that change now.”

“Your Attention Please” will be available to watch on Apple TV starting Tuesday.