Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones announced a court ruling denying Meta Platforms, Inc.'s motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit alleging Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to addict children and misled parents. The court allowed claims under COPPA and the Virginia Consumer Protection Act to proceed to trial, scheduled for August 2026.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements and customer terms related to children's data processing, ensuring robust parental consent mechanisms are in place and compliant with COPPA. Specifically, examine data processing agreements with social media platforms for clauses addressing minor user data, addictive design features, and age verification. Also review privacy policies and disclosures to parents, and ensure any data sharing with third parties for behavioral targeting of minors is prohibited or strictly regulated.
Entity
Meta Platforms, Inc.
Industry
Social Media"Meta Platforms, Inc."
"Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)"
"Virginia Consumer Protection Act"
"designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and Facebook to addict children and teens"
"misled the public about the harms and risks of those features"
"bipartisan coalition of attorneys general"
The Virginia Attorney General, as part of a multistate coalition, secured a court ruling allowing their case against Meta to proceed to trial. The case alleges that Meta designed and deployed harmful features on its platforms that addict children and teens, causing severe mental and physical detriment. The trial is scheduled for August.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Bureau of Securities issued a public warning to state residents about fraudulent investment schemes proliferating on Meta-owned platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The alert details common scam tactics such as pump-and-dump schemes, confidence scams, and fraudulent cryptocurrency offerings, and provides tips for residents to avoid victimization. No enforcement action against any entity was announced in this release.
$1.4B
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a record-setting $1.4 billion settlement with Meta for unlawfully capturing and using the biometric data of millions of Texans, marking one of the largest privacy settlements in U.S. history.
Attorney General William Tong led a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general in urging Meta Platforms to protect users from fraudulent investment ads on Facebook that facilitate pump-and-dump schemes, causing significant financial losses. The coalition calls for enhanced ad review processes, including human review for investment ads, and suggests ceasing investment ads if scams cannot be curbed.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a bipartisan coalition of 41 attorneys general in sending a letter to Meta Platforms, Inc. to address the rising number of Facebook and Instagram account takeovers by scammers. The coalition criticizes Meta's inadequate security measures and calls for improved protections including multi-factor authentication, increased staffing for response, and stronger enforcement against scammers. The letter urges Meta to take immediate action to safeguard user accounts from hijacking and fraud.
New Jersey, leading a coalition of 41 other attorneys general, sued Meta for knowingly designing addictive Instagram and Facebook features targeting children and teens while falsely claiming the platforms were safe. The lawsuit alleges Meta collected personal data from users under 13 without parental consent, violating the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and state consumer protection laws like the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.