The attorney general alleges Meta held back stronger action because fraudulent ads generated revenue, bringing its consumer safeguards under challenge in a state lawsuit.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha has sued Meta, alleging the social media company knowingly exposed vulnerable users to fraudulent advertisements and failed to take stronger action because those ads generated revenue.
The attorney general’s office describes Rhode Island as the first state to sue over this alleged inaction. The Consumer Federation of America filed a lawsuit on the same subject in April, followed by California’s Santa Clara County in May. Rhode Island’s filing adds state enforcement litigation to those earlier consumer-group and county cases.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Reuters that the company had removed more than 159 million scam advertisements from its platforms. That is Meta’s figure for its enforcement work, not a court finding about whether its safeguards were adequate.
Stone accused Neronha of refusing to discuss Meta’s protections for Rhode Island users. He also said the attorney general had hired an out-of-state private law firm to bring a lawsuit that ignored the company’s daily efforts to combat scams.
A 2025 Reuters report found that scam advertisements could be generating billions of dollars for Meta, possibly as much as 10 percent of its revenue. Meta has taken action to shut down operators behind some fraudulent ads and sued others. It also added protections for suspicious messages earlier in 2026.
The state’s allegations about Meta’s handling of scam advertising await a court’s decision.
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