Mass. court lets AG suit vs Meta proceed

Massachusetts’ highest court said Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s lawsuit against Meta can keep going, rejecting Meta’s bid to end the case under Section 230. (mass.gov) In a unanimous April 10 decision, the Supreme Judicial Court said the Commonwealth’s claims target Meta’s own conduct: designing Instagram to drive compulsive use by children and making misleading safety statements. (mass.gov) The court said Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects platforms from claims based on third-party posts, but not automatically from claims about product design, business practices, or a company’s own representations. (mass.gov) That distinction is the center of the case. Massachusetts says features such as push notifications, “likes,” and endless scrolling were built to exploit teenagers’ “fear of missing out,” while Meta says Section 230 should still block the suit. (cnbc.com) The ruling keeps alive one of the state cases trying to treat social media harms as a product-design problem, not only a content-moderation dispute. Reuters, via CNBC, reported that at least nine state attorneys general have brought similar cases in state court since 2023, while 34 states are also pursuing related claims against Meta in federal court. (cnbc.com) Campbell’s office sued Meta in Suffolk Superior Court on October 24, 2023. The complaint alleges unfair and deceptive practices under Massachusetts consumer-protection law and also alleges Meta created a public nuisance. (mass.gov) Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt wrote that the complaint does not seek to hold Meta liable for “information provided by” users. The opinion says the alleged harms stem from Meta “designing a social media platform that capitalizes on the developmental vulnerabilities of children” and from allegedly misleading the public about safety. (mass.gov) The justices also noted the scale of teen use described in the case record. According to the opinion, Instagram is used by more than 33 million young people, including more than 300,000 daily active users in Massachusetts ages 13 to 17. (boston.com) Meta has denied the allegations. The company told Reuters, as quoted by CNBC, that it takes extensive steps to protect teens and young users on its platforms. (cnbc.com) The decision arrived two days after the Massachusetts House passed a separate bill, 129-25, that would bar children under 14 from social media and require parental consent for users ages 14 and 15. The Senate passed a narrower school cellphone bill in July 2025, so lawmakers still need to reconcile the two versions. (wgbh.org)