The lawsuit alleged that Meta knows “that scam ads cause significant financial harm to vulnerable consumers”; allows the ads “because they generate substantial revenue”; and helps create, refine and distribute the ads, including by using accountholder data to help advertisers target vulnerable consumers such as senior citizens, according to the release.
“For a company that engages so many Rhode Islanders and Americans, maintaining high standards for consumer safety should be of the utmost importance,” Neronha said in the release. “As alleged, Meta knowingly exposed vulnerable users to fraud and scams, and made enormous profits in doing so.”
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Meta did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.
In a statement provided to Reuters, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the lawsuit is “unfounded,” Meta will fight it and the company regularly partners with law enforcement to combat scammers.
“The attorney general refused to engage with us on ways we protect Rhode Islanders from scams and has instead hired an out-of-state private law firm to concoct a lawsuit that ignores the full range of actions we take to combat scams every day,” Stone said, per the report.
The lawsuit alleged that Meta’s conduct violates Rhode Island’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, according to Neronha’s press release. The complaint seeks restitution, civil penalties, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and the appointment of a monitor to ensure Meta complies with relief ordered by the court, per the release.
The announcement of the lawsuit came a day after a court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in a case brought by New Mexico’s attorney general. That lawsuit alleged that Facebook violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act nearly 44 million times by misusing personal information collected through the platform, misrepresenting to consumers its data practices and failing to address misinformation and hate speech.
Rhode Island’s lawsuit also follows the August report that Meta reached a settlement with U.S. states in which it agreed to pay as much as $16.68 billion and impose new restrictions on young users of Facebook and Instagram.
The Federal Trade Commission said Monday (Oct. 19) that fraud losses reported by adults ages 60 and older increased fivefold between 2020 and 2025, leaping from $600 million to $3 billion.
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