Meta Platforms, Inc. is facing a lawsuit in Illinois, with Labyron Carr and his nonprofit Cappin4Capo Inc. alleging that the company violated federal law by allowing a hacker to retain control over their Instagram account dedicated to gun violence prevention.
Carr founded the nonprofit in 2017 after losing his son to gun violence. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claims that the Instagram account was hacked in September by Safiyanu Sahibu or an individual referred to as “John Doe.”
The hacker allegedly posed as Carr and promoted nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to the account’s followers. Despite multiple attempts to regain control, Meta, the parent company of Instagram, allegedly prevented Carr from accessing the account after the hack.
The lawsuit argues that Meta’s actions contributed to confusion among the followers, who may believe that the hacker’s posts are officially sponsored or endorsed by Cappin4Capo. This legal action against Meta occurs amid a broader trend of social media companies facing lawsuits related to account impersonation.
While some platforms have benefited from Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, providing immunity to online platforms hosting user content, Meta finds itself entangled in this legal challenge over alleged mishandling of the hacked Instagram account.
