Mass. high court lets AG suit against Meta proceed

Massachusetts’ highest court ruled on April 10 that Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s lawsuit against Meta can keep going. (boston.com) The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court said Meta is not automatically shielded by Section 230, the 1996 federal law that often protects internet companies from liability over user posts. The justices said the state’s claims target Meta’s own product design and safety statements, not content created by third parties. (boston.com; findlaw.com) Campbell sued in October 2023, accusing Meta of building Instagram and related products to keep children hooked with push notifications, infinite scroll, and other features aimed at “fear of missing out.” The complaint also says Meta misled users and parents about safety and age-verification protections. (cnbc.com; boston.com) The court’s opinion keeps the case alive at an early stage; it does not decide whether Meta broke Massachusetts consumer-protection law. It says the state may try to prove that harm came from Meta’s own choices about how the platforms were built and marketed. (boston.com; findlaw.com) The ruling landed two days after the Massachusetts House passed a bill that would require age verification, bar children under 14 from social media, and require parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. The same bill would ban cellphone use in public schools from arrival to dismissal. (malegislature.gov) That puts court pressure and legislative pressure on the same issue at once: whether platforms should be treated as passive hosts of speech or as companies responsible for product features built to maximize time and attention. The Massachusetts justices drew that line in favor of letting the state test its claims in court. (findlaw.com; cnbc.com) The opinion also arrives as similar cases pile up around the country. CNBC reported that 34 states are pursuing related federal litigation against Meta, and that at least nine state attorneys general have filed state-court cases since 2023. (cnbc.com) Meta has denied the allegations and said it has taken extensive steps to protect teens and younger users on its platforms. In court, the company argued that Section 230 should block the Massachusetts case because the claims depend on how users interact with content posted by others. (cnbc.com) The Massachusetts decision followed two March setbacks for the company cited in coverage of the case: a Los Angeles jury verdict awarding $6 million in a youth-harm case involving Meta and Google, and a New Mexico verdict ordering Meta to pay $375 million in a case over user safety and child sexual exploitation. (cnbc.com; boston.com) For now, the practical effect is narrower than a final win for the state but bigger than a procedural skirmish: Campbell gets discovery and a chance to build the case. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, now has to fight the claims on the facts instead of ending them at the courthouse door. (boston.com; cnbc.com)