Ruling by state’s top court comes as 34 other states are pursuing similar cases against Meta in federal court
Meta Platforms must face a lawsuit by the Massachusetts attorney general alleging that as the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, it deliberately designed social media features to addict young users, 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 attorney general Andrea 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.
