Attorney General outlines consumer-protection priorities: social-media suits, fossil-fuel claims, data-privacy push

Montpelier, Jan. 15, 2025 — The state’s Attorney General told the Vermont Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee on Wednesday that her office is focusing on multistate consumer-protection lawsuits against social-media platforms and fossil-fuel companies, advancing a data-privacy bill, and expanding office staff to handle complex technology and contractor complaints.

The Attorney General said her office enforces the Consumer Protection Act and operates a Consumer Assistance Program housed at the University of Vermont that mediates complaints, fields scam reports and helps Vermonters recover funds. “We just want the harm to stop,” she said of the social-media litigation, adding those suits allege companies “downplayed the addictive nature and the harm that they are causing with their product, especially to teenage girls.”

Why it matters: The office’s civil enforcement actions can result in statewide settlements, consumer remedies and monetary awards that help fund agency work. Committee members focused on how the office measures return on investment for litigation and asked for clearer data on whether current enforcement and regulatory steps are changing consumer harms.

Key details

- Scope and staffing: The Attorney General described…