Can MD, states win in lawsuits against Meta? Experts say it depends.

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“It’s essentially the famous line during Watergate … what did the internal company documents show, when did they show it and how did the company respond.”

Gregory Dolin, professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, said it’s too early to determine whether Maryland and dozens of other states’ federal lawsuit against Meta Platforms, Inc. will succeed, but the litigation could result in a change of business practices for the company — ranging from a shift in marketing to the implementation of a verification process for children to use the social platforms.

In October last year, Maryland joined 32 other states in filing a federal lawsuit against the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, alleging Meta Platforms, Inc. knew of the harmful impact of its platforms on young people and misled the public about the dangers associated with the use of its platform by concealing the extent of the psychological and other health harms young users experienced.

In addition to the federal suit — filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California — Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and 41 other state attorneys general have filed a series of federal and state lawsuits against Meta, alleging the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on its social media platforms to purposely addict young people to its products.

Dolin said much of the litigation’s ultimate outcome will depend on what comes out in discovery.

“What comes out in discovery sometimes is just so problematic, at least if not from a legal viewpoint, then from a ‘(public relations), how will the jury react’ viewpoint,” Dolin said, noting this would increase the likelihood of a settlement.

Jeff Sovern, a professor of consumer law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, said a settlement is likely because nearly all cases end in a settlement.

“One of the things that’s interesting about this case is that it’s a bipartisan coalition,” Sovern said. “A lot of times you see blue state (attorneys general) bringing a case or red state (attorneys general) getting together to bring a case. This one includes both, which means that these are issues that cross party lines.”

Though many of the states brought claims under their own unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices state statutes, Sovern said it’s interesting that Maryland did not.

The Federal Trade Commission’s standard for what constitutes unfair acts or practices, Sovern said, considers if the conduct causes a substantial injury that consumers cannot reasonably avoid and for which there are no offsetting benefits for consumers.

“If you’re using Meta and you’re injured by it and you can’t avoid this particular injury because, for example, you don’t know it’s going to happen, that’s something you can’t reasonably avoid,” Sovern said. “Getting off of Meta is not required to reasonably avoid it.”

A spokesperson for the FTC declined to comment on whether attorneys general from the plaintiff states asked the agency to be a party to the lawsuit.

Prior to the filing of the states’ lawsuit, the FTC proposed a blanket prohibition in May 2023 to prevent Facebook from monetizing data collected from users under the age of 18, alleging Facebook violated the agency’s 2020 privacy order.

Meta’s answer to the states’ complaint has not been made public. A spokesperson for Meta did not return multiple requests for comment.

In a statement last year after the states filed their lawsuit, Meta said it shares “the attorneys general’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online, and have already introduced over 30 tools to support teens and their families.”

That has not convinced the attorneys general.

“We believe that Meta has manipulated their social media platforms to attract and addict young people, without regard for how using applications like Instagram will negatively affect children and deepen the mental health crisis afflicting our nation’s youth,” Brown said when Maryland joined in the lawsuit.