by: Kyler Swaim
Posted: Jun 16, 2024 / 04:22 PM CDT
Updated: Jun 16, 2024 / 04:22 PM CDT
Related Video: Gov. Sanders announced Arkansas lawsuits against Meta, TikTok in March 2023.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Portions of Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s lawsuit against Meta will be allowed to proceed, his office announced on Thursday.
Griffin and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders first announced the lawsuit against Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, in March 2023.
They accused the company of violating the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and alleged Meta “misled the public about the platform’s safety and addictiveness.”
Sanders said the act prohibits companies from “engaging in false, deceptive business practices” and believed the falsehood comes as social media companies claim they are beneficial and non-addictive.
In the 2023 presser, Sanders claimed Meta played a role in the teen mental health crisis and this lawsuit would be the first of its kind in the country with a state taking on the multi-billion-dollar company.
Griffin called the court’s ruling a “victory for the citizens of Arkansas” in a statement.
“The court’s order makes clear that the State of Arkansas has the right to sue Meta in state court under our state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act,” Griffin said. “Silicon Valley has now been served a message that their profits cannot be built on the backs of Arkansas’s youth.”
The ruling came from the Polk County Circuit Court.
Click here to read the full ruling.