Insights < BACK TO ALL INSIGHTS
Meta’s Bay State Blues: Mass. High Court Finds Another Crack in the Section 230 Shield
FEATURED
April 20, 2026
Meta’s Bay State Blues: Mass. High Court Finds Another Crack in the Section 230 Shield
By: Robert Ward
Meta’s Bay State Blues: Mass. High Court Finds Another Crack in the Section 230 Shield Mere weeks after juries in California and New Mexico returned multi-million-dollar verdicts against Meta Platforms, Inc., the social media company suffered another defeat. On April 10, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) rejected the social media company’s attempt to raise Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act as a shield against the Massachusetts Attorney General’s lawsuit alleging that the company, along with Instagram LLC, designed the Instagram platform to foster compulsive use among children. Like the plaintiff in the California case, the Attorney General alleges that Meta implemented a “suite of design features that exploit [young] users’ neurological vulnerability to social media addiction,” including “infinite…
What are you looking for?
Thinking about adding an AI Chatbot? Some key considerations.
February 17, 2026
Thinking about adding an AI Chatbot? Some key considerations.
By: Steven Hess
Many companies are thinking about how to deploy new AI systems to automate routine work and to improve their product. For many businesses, adding an AI chatbot is a valuable way to enhance the customer experience by automating routine conversations,[1] and by alerting customers to new deals and offerings that are relevant to them.[2] Coupled with the rising ubiquity of AI chatbots in modern life,[3]…
Is Scrolling the New Smoking?
January 21, 2026
Is Scrolling the New Smoking?
By: Lauren Scribner
In the final weeks of 2025, New York passed a law requiring social media platforms with “certain predatory features” to display warning labels about “the dangerous impact” those features pose to the mental health of users under the age of eighteen.[1] These so-called “predatory features” include continuous and infinite scrolling, displaying addictive feeds, and automatically playing video content.[2] Warning labels will be displayed upon the…
FTC Settles with Gaming App for False Representations about Children’s Privacy
July 9, 2020
FTC Settles with Gaming App for False Representations about Children’s Privacy
By: Nicole Kardell
On July 6, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with gaming app developer Miniclip S.A. The settlement addresses allegations that Miniclip falsely claimed membership in a Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) safe harbor program for the last several years. Miniclip boasts more than 1 billion downloads of its 45 “high-quality mobile games” (such as Agar.io and Soccer Stars) and a further catalogue…
Supreme Court Finds That CFPB Director Can Be Removed By President, But Allows Agency To Continue To Operate
June 29, 2020
Supreme Court Finds That CFPB Director Can Be Removed By President, But Allows Agency To Continue To Operate
By: Ifrah Law
On June 29, 2020, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that expanded the President’s authority to remove a director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), while simultaneously finding that the Bureau itself could continue to exist an operate. In Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, both the law firm Seila Law—which was under investigation by the CFPB for charging consumers with improper fees in association…
FTC Enforcement reminds Companies to live up their Promises
April 15, 2020
FTC Enforcement reminds Companies to live up their Promises
By: Nicole Kardell
The FTC recently announced its settlement with Tapplock, Inc., a maker of smart padlocks (Internet-connected fingerprint-enabled padlocks that you can use in lieu of old-fashioned combo locks). The FTC investigated the Canadian-based company for its allegedly false claims that its Internet-connected smart locks were designed to be “unbreakable” and that the company took reasonable steps to secure the data that it collected from consumers. According…
Failure to Certify: Companies That Falsely Claim They Are Privacy Shield Certified or Let Their Certification Lapse Face Enforcement Action.
April 8, 2020
Failure to Certify: Companies That Falsely Claim They Are Privacy Shield Certified or Let Their Certification Lapse Face Enforcement Action.
By: Nicole Kardell
Does your company’s privacy policy include a claim that it is Privacy-Shield certified? If so, you should ensure that it is, in fact, certified and that the certification has not lapsed. Failures in this area are low-hanging fruit for government enforcement actions. A little background on the Privacy Shield Framework. The U.S. Privacy Shield framework facilitates the legal transfer of consumer data from the E.U….
Telemarketing Restrictions During State of Emergency
April 7, 2020
Telemarketing Restrictions During State of Emergency
By: Nicole Kardell
If part of your marketing plan involves calls to consumers, please be aware of additional telemarketing restrictions in some states (presently New York and Louisiana) during a state of emergency. New York New York recently enacted a law to prohibit unsolicited telemarketing calls during a state of emergency. Since New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency (on March 7, and…
