Meta Hits Setback as Vermont Court Says Addiction Case Can Go On

Vermont’s Supreme Court affirmed a trial court’s finding it has personal jurisdiction over Meta Platforms Inc. in a lawsuit filed by the state claiming the company deliberately designed Instagram to be addictive to teenagers.

“Meta has purposefully availed itself of the Vermont social-media and advertising market and although the State’s complaint does not allege that any misrepresentation or omission about the safety of the application was specifically aimed at Vermont users, or made in Vermont,” the company can “fairly expect” potential users to rely on its public representations that Instagram is safe, Judge Karen R. Carroll said Aug. 29.

The ...