On July 24th, 2025, the DC Superior Court Judge Yvonne Williams issued a ruling denying Tech Giant Meta’s Motion to Dismiss a lawsuit filed by ECBAWM and its co-counsel the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law on behalf of the DC-based Equal Rights Center.

The lawsuit, filed on February 11, alleges that Meta engaged in discriminatory practices by providing separate and unequal services to Black users on its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram. The complaint alleges that Meta’s advertising system disproportionately steers ads for for-profit colleges and universities to Black users while also disproportionately steering ads for public nonprofit colleges and universities to white users—a violation of the D.C. Human Rights Act and Consumer Protection Procedure Act.

In their Motion to Dismiss, attorneys for Meta argued that Plaintiffs failed to state a claim under DC Law, and that Meta was immune under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which immunizes online platforms from liability for user content. Judge Williams found “none of Defendant’s arguments persuasive” and denied Meta’s motion in full.

ECBAWM attorneys Diane L. Houk, Sam Shapiro, and Hafsa S. Mansoor are proud to represent the Equal Rights Center as we seek justice for consumers and fight for equal treatment in all spaces, including digital.