Overview
- Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court, in a unanimous ruling Friday, said the attorney general’s case can move forward after finding Section 230 does not shield Meta at this stage because the claims target Instagram’s design and alleged safety misstatements.
- Meta said Thursday it is removing Facebook and Instagram ads that seek to sign up clients for social-media addiction lawsuits, with a spokesperson saying the company will not let trial lawyers profit on its platforms while attacking them.
- Law firms including Morgan & Morgan and intermediaries like White Heart Legal had used social media to find clients, and X Ante tracked a March spike to 671 TV ads and roughly 20,000 radio spots tied to these cases after the recent verdicts.
- In late March, juries delivered back-to-back blows to platforms, with a Los Angeles panel awarding $6 million against Meta and Google over a young woman’s depression and suicidal thoughts, and a New Mexico jury imposing $375 million on Meta for misleading users about youth safety and enabling exploitation.
- Court records show more than 3,300 state suits and about 2,400 federal cases are consolidated in California, as companies deny the allegations and prepare appeals likely to test Section 230 and First Amendment claims while similar efforts expand to places like Canada and Singapore.