Mass. court lets Meta case proceed
A state high court in Massachusetts ruled that the attorney-general’s lawsuit against Meta can move forward, keeping product‑harm and youth‑harm claims alive rather than dismissing them outright. The decision shifts the legal focus toward how social‑media product design may be judged under consumer‑protection law. (boston.com)
Massachusetts’ highest court ruled Friday that Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s lawsuit accusing Meta of addicting young users can keep going. (findlaw.com) The Supreme Judicial Court said Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act does not block claims centered on Meta’s own product design and its own statements about safety. The case is Commonwealth v. Meta Platforms, Inc., docket SJC-13747, decided April 10, 2026. (findlaw.com) Campbell sued in October 2023 under Massachusetts consumer-protection law, alleging Meta built Instagram and Facebook features to keep minors engaged and then misled the public about the risks. Her office pointed to infinite scroll, push notifications, “likes,” and other prompts aimed at repeated use. (mass.gov) The justices drew a line between user content and company conduct. They said the state is not trying to hold Meta liable for what outside users posted, but for design choices and business practices that allegedly “capitalize on the developmental vulnerabilities of children.” (boston.com) That distinction puts the next phase of the fight on consumer law, not just internet immunity. The court did not decide whether Meta broke the law; it decided the claims were legally viable enough to survive Meta’s bid to end the case now. (newsfromthestates.com) The ruling lands as Massachusetts lawmakers are moving their own youth-social-media restrictions. On April 8, the Massachusetts House passed a bill, 129-25, that would bar children under 14 from social media and require parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. (wgbh.org) The Massachusetts case is also part of a broader national legal campaign. Reuters reported that at least nine state attorneys general have filed similar state-court cases since 2023, while 34 states are pursuing related claims against Meta in federal court. (usnews.com) Other recent verdicts have added pressure. On March 25, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Alphabet’s Google negligent in a case brought by a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to social media as a child, awarding $6 million; a day earlier, a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in a case over platform safety and child sexual exploitation. (cnbc.com) Meta has denied the allegations and said it takes extensive steps to protect teens and younger users on its platforms. With the dismissal fight over, the Massachusetts case now returns to lower court for the evidence battle Meta had tried to avoid. (usnews.com)
