Massachusetts Court Allows Addiction Lawsuit Against Meta to Proceed
Massachusetts's highest court ruled that Meta cannot use Section 230 immunity to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the company deliberately designed Instagram to addict young users by exploiting psychological vulnerabilities. The decision allows the state attorney general's case to proceed to trial, following Meta's recent legal losses in similar cases in Los Angeles and New Mexico.
What happened
On April 10, 2026, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court unanimously rejected Meta's motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, allowing the case to proceed to trial.
The court ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects internet companies from liability for user-generated content, does not shield Meta from allegations about its own business practices and false statements regarding user safety.
Reported impact
The lawsuit alleges that Instagram was designed to maximize user engagement and exploit adolescents' psychological vulnerabilities, including their fear of missing out, causing dependency and mental health harm to young users.
Massachusetts alleges that internal Meta data showed the platform was causing addiction and harming children, and that CEO Mark Zuckerberg ignored internal warnings about harmful effects of Instagram features.
Index analysis
The decision comes after Meta faced significant legal losses in March 2026: a Los Angeles jury found Meta negligent for creating addictive platforms, awarding $6 million to a 20-year-old woman, and a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties for deceptive practices regarding safety and child exploitation.
At least nine state attorneys general have filed similar lawsuits since 2023, with 34 additional states pursuing coordinated federal litigation against Meta.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.