(Boise) – Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced today that Idaho, along with 32 other states, filed a federal lawsuit against Meta Platforms, Inc. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleges that Meta’s business practices violate the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
“COPPA prohibits social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram from enrolling users who are under age 13,” Labrador said. “Today’s lawsuit alleges that Meta knew children used its platforms and the company knowingly collected data from them without parental consent.”
Almost all state attorneys general have worked together since 2021 to investigate Meta’s social media platforms and the features that allegedly harm children and young adults. Although not all states are pursuing the same causes of action, they will continue to work together as the litigation progresses.
The multistate coalition that brought today’s complaint is also investigating TikTok for similar conduct. That investigation remains ongoing, and states have pushed for adequate disclosure of information and documents in litigation related to TikTok’s failure to provide adequate discovery in response to the multistate requests.
States joining the federal lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Florida is filing its own federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Also filing lawsuits in their own state courts are the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Vermont.