PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — Rhode Island sued Meta Platforms in state court on Thursday over the company's alleged tolerance of widespread scam advertising on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

The suit, filed by Attorney General Peter Neronha in Providence Superior Court, accuses Meta of unlawfully profiting from and participating in the creation of billions of dollars in scam advertising — even as it assured its billions of users that it was working diligently to protect them. It is the first scam-ads case brought against Meta by a US state, following a similar lawsuit filed in May by California's Santa Clara County.

159 million+Scam ads Meta says it removed in the past year — yaani over 15.9 crore ads
15 billionHigher-risk scam ads a day the complaint says Meta displayed, per internal documents cited in the case — yaani 1,500 crore ads daily
~10%Share of Meta's 2024 revenue the complaint links to banned marketing, as alleged

The complaint seeks civil penalties for each alleged violation of Rhode Island state law, restitution to consumers, disgorgement of profits the state says were ill-gotten, and a court order requiring Meta to address — rather than profit from — the scam ads it develops and delivers on its platforms, according to Reuters and the Insurance Journal's report of the filing.

Source: Insurance Journal

'As alleged, Meta knowingly exposed vulnerable users to fraud and scams, and made enormous profits in doing so. When companies, big or small, take advantage of Rhode Island consumers, this office will do everything within our authority to hold them to account,' Neronha said in a press release.

Meta said it would fight the lawsuit, calling it 'unfounded', and noted that it regularly partners with law enforcement to disrupt scam networks. Spokesperson Andy Stone said the attorney general had refused to engage with the company on how it protects Rhode Islanders and had instead hired an out-of-state private law firm.

Stone said Meta removed more than 159 million scam ads in the past year alone — yaani, more than 15.9 crore ads — and has launched anti-fraud tools including alerts flagging suspicious friend requests on Facebook, expanded advertiser verification and warnings about risky device-linking requests on WhatsApp. The allegations in the complaint are not findings; the case will now proceed in Providence Superior Court.