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ARTICLE · 29 JUNE 2026

Commonwealth v. Meta: When Platform Design Becomes The Plaintiff’s Best Theory

Gesmer Updegrove LLP
Gesmer Updegrove LLP
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Gesmer Updegrove LLP

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has unanimously ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act does not shield Meta from state claims targeting Instagram's design features and deceptive marketing practices. This decision represents a significant shift in how courts interpret the scope of immunity for social media platforms, distinguishing between content-based claims and design-based liability. The ruling allows the Commonwealth's consumer protection lawsuit to proceed, potentially forcin

United StatesMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Lee T. Gesmer
Lee T. Gesmer

I’ve written about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 many times over the years on this blog, and the arc those posts trace is worth pausing on before turning to where the law stands today.

In Section 230 Supreme Court Argument in Gonzalez v. Google: Keep An Eye on Justice Thomas and Supreme Court Will Decide Whether Google’s Algorithm-Based Recommendations are Protected Under Section 230, both from 2023, I described Section 230 as “an almost insurmountable defensive barrier for Internet publishers, and particularly social media companies.” Courts have read the statute’s twenty-six words expansively for a quarter-century, dismissing case after case at the pleading stage. 

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