Primary source: Rhode Island complaint (DocumentCloud, via Boston Globe)

Rhode Island sued Meta Platforms on Thursday in Providence County Superior Court, alleging the company failed to stop advertisements that sold fraudulent products and financial scams on Facebook and Instagram².

The Boston Globe reported that the 85-page complaint from Attorney General Peter F. Neronha is the first state case to accuse Meta of failing to curtail those ads². Reuters also reported the filing¹.

Neronha’s office alleges Meta helped create and optimize ads it knew were dubious while misrepresenting its public commitment to prevent fraud, according to the Globe².

The complaint says Meta violated Rhode Island’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act and seeks unspecified damages and restitution². It also alleges Meta made a substantial profit, about $16 billion in 2024, from ads for restricted goods or ads that sought to defraud consumers².

A Meta spokesperson said that in the past year the company had removed more than 159 million scam advertisements and had launched new tools to protect users, the Globe reported². Engadget attributed the same removal figure to Meta spokesperson Andy Stone and reported Stone’s claim that the attorney general did not engage with the company on scam protections and hired an out-of-state private law firm³.

Neronha’s office said Meta used account-holder data to help advertisers target people more likely to engage with scam ads, according to the Globe².

Whether a court will find the advertising claims proven, and what damages if any would follow, had not been decided as of Thursday^1,2,3.

Sources

1. ReutersEXCLUSIVE: Rhode Island sues Meta over alleged tolerance for scam advertisingOct 22, 12:30 PM
2. The Boston GlobeRhode Island sues Meta, becoming first state to allege Facebook parent company failed to block false advertising, scamsOct 22, 1:33 PM
3. EngadgetRhode Island sues Meta over its approach to scam adsOct 22, 4:00 PM

Read the original at Reuters ↗