By Nate Raymond
BOSTON, April 10 (Reuters) – Meta Platforms must face a lawsuit by Massachusetts’ attorney general alleging the company designed its Instagram social media platform to addict children, the state’s top court ruled on Friday.
The ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court marked the first time a state high court has considered whether a federal law that generally shields internet companies from lawsuits over content posted by their users would also bar claims that companies like Meta knowingly addicted young users.
Writing for the unanimous court, Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt said the lawsuit brought by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell does not seek to hold Meta liable for content created by its users — which Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 generally shields companies from — but targets the company’s conduct.
“Instead, the claims allege harm stemming from Meta’s own conduct either by designing a social media platform that capitalizes on the developmental vulnerabilities of children or by affirmatively misleading consumers about the safety of the Instagram platform,” Wendlandt wrote.
‘MAJOR STEP’ IN ACCOUNTABILITY
Campbell, a Democrat, hailed the ruling in a statement, calling it a “major step in holding these companies accountable for practices that have fueled the youth mental health crisis and put profits over kids.”
A spokesperson for Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said in a statement that it continues to disagree with the “false distinction” between content and platform design and that the ruling did not address the case’s merits.
“We are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people,” the Meta spokesperson said.
The lawsuit is one of thousands of cases by individuals, municipalities, states and school districts nationwide seeking to hold Meta and other social media companies responsible for allegations that they designed their platforms to be addictive to young users.
Friday’s ruling followed a landmark trial in which a Los Angeles jury on March 25 found Meta and Alphabet’s Google negligent for designing social media platforms that are harmful to young people. It awarded a combined $6 million to a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to social media as a child.
A separate jury a day earlier found Meta owed $375 million in civil penalties in a lawsuit by New Mexico’s attorney general, accusing the company of misleading users about the safety of Facebook and Instagram and of enabling child sexual exploitation on those platforms.
Thirty-four other states are pursuing similar cases against Meta in federal court. The case by Campbell is one of at least nine that state attorneys general have filed since 2023 in state court, including one filed on Wednesday by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a Republican.
Campbell’s lawsuit garnered early headlines because of allegations it first aired about how CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been dismissive of concerns that aspects of Instagram could have a harmful effect on its users.
The lawsuit alleged that features on Instagram, such as push notifications, “likes” of user posts and a never-ending scroll were designed to profit off teens’ psychological vulnerabilities and their “fear of missing out.”
The state alleged that internal data showed the platform was addicting and harming children, yet top executives rejected changes its research showed would improve teens’ well-being.
Menlo Park, California-based Meta had sought to duck the Massachusetts case based on Section 230. But a trial court judge rejected that argument, prompting Meta to appeal.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Daniel Wallis and Rod Nickel)
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