Rhode Island is first state to sue Meta over alleged profits from scam ads

A laptop displays a Ninjabot AI ad promoting trading technology and a website offering a license for $397, with a graphic suggesting continuous profits. The ad is among the examples of deceptive ads cited in Rhode Island’s lawsuit against Meta. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)A fake investment opportunity, a phony Social Security benefit or a dubious health product might seem like just another random ad on Meta’s platforms.  But Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha claims the tech giant allows the same advertising machinery that helps legitimate businesses find customers to be used by scammers to target victims, allowing Meta to reap in billions of dollars of revenue. That’s the central allegation in a lawsuit Neronha’s office filed Oct. 22 in Providence County Superior Court, making Rhode Island the first state in the nation to sue Meta over its alleged role in profiting from scam ads. The 85-page complaint accuses the California-based Meta, which owns Facebook,