Utah Republican attorney general candidate Rachel Terry said Tuesday her opponent, Derek Brown, has a conflict of interest in handling the state’s lawsuit against Facebook based on legal and lobbying work Brown did for the social media giant.
Brown spent six years lobbying for Facebook, according to his disclosure report. He ended his representation of the firm in December, a few weeks after he announced his bid for attorney general.
“I don’t still represent them so there is no conflict. She knows that,” Brown said of Terry at Tuesday’s GOP primary election debate between the three Republican candidates.
During an interview following the debate, Terry said conflicts of interest continue after an attorney no longer no longer represents a clients.
“Every lawyer in the country knows that’s not how conflicts work,” she said. “So that’s a genuine concern to me. … It’s a legitimate concern and a conflict that I think the public needs to be aware of and dismissing it so haphazardly undermines the actual conflict that exists.”
Brown said when Gov. Spencer Cox wanted to take on the issue of harms caused to children by social media, he “brought them to the table” and worked with legislators and the governor to create legislation that “gave parents the tools that they need to actually help with their kids on social media, so I’m proud of the work we did.”
“Obviously, I have an opponent who is trying to make an issue of it, but I don’t currently represent them. So this idea that there’s some sort of conflict, it doesn’t quite understand the way things work in the real world,” Brown said.
In October, the state sued Meta, alleging its Facebook and Instagram products had “profoundly altered the psychological and social realities of a generation of young Americans, harnessing powerful and unprecedented technologies to ensnare youth to the detriment of their mental health.”
The suit alleges Meta misled consumers and “has taken advantage of children all in the name of maximizing profit” in a manner that is “repugnant and unlawful.”
“It’s important that the public understands that when he was representing Facebook he wasn’t representing the children of Utah,” Terry said during the debate.
Brown acknowledged that social media has harmed children and said he would continue the state’s litigation against the companies.
The winner of the June 25 Republican primary will face Democrat Rudy Bautista and United Utah Party candidate Michelle Quist in this fall’s general election.
Quist on Tuesday received the endorsement of two former Utah Supreme Court justices — Christine Durham and Deno Himonas.
“We need an attorney general whose only priority is the residents of Utah and upholding the law,” Durham said in a news release. “Michelle is that person. With Michelle, Utah will have integrity in the attorney general’s office.”
Frank Mylar, the third GOP candidate in the race, criticized Brown for taking large donations — in some cases $20,000 and even $50,000 — from donors. Brown has raised nearly $700,000 to date, including receiving $50,000 from Wasatch Group, a property management company.
“I think that you’re safer, if you want to be ethical, to not receive donations from some of these corporations and some of these lobbying groups,” Mylar said.
Brown said he has told donors that they can give what they want, but he will still do what he thinks is right.
“I think the reality is the broader the base of support, the less beholden you could say anyone is to anything,” he said. “I have a track record of not being beholden to anyone, but to following my conscience and voting and acting in accordance with that, regardless of where funding comes from.”
Terry questioned whether Brown, given his donations and endorsements from the likes of Cox, Sen. Mike Lee, and legislative leaders, could exercise the independence necessary if he is elected attorney general.
“How can you be truly independent from the governor and the Legislature when they asked you to run and then they financed your campaign, and they’re actively campaigning for you?” she said. “That’s as close to being an appointed attorney general, as I can imagine.”
Brown said that candidates who complain about endorsements are generally complaining that they didn’t get the endorsement.
“I’ve been endorsed by the speaker of the [Utah] House, the Senate president, the governor, Sen. Mike Lee. They don’t always agree on issues. They simply don’t, and they know that,” he said. “The reality is they endorsed me because they know I’m independent minded.”
Update, June 12, 12:20 p.m. • This story has been updated to include details about November’s general election.
