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Meta faces Tennessee trial: Did Instagram's design make teens addicted?
Meta faces trial in Tennessee over claims Instagram's design addicted teens and harmed mental health. The state seeks fines and changes to app features.
Meta Platforms, the company that owns Instagram, is facing a trial in Tennessee starting Monday over claims that Instagram's design is making teenagers addicted to the app. Tennessee says Instagram's features are causing a youth mental health crisis by encouraging teens to spend too much time on the platform, according to the Tennessee lawsuit.
The state has accused Meta of breaking Tennessee's consumer protection law by knowingly creating a product that pushes teens into compulsive social media use. Tennessee also claims Meta misled the public by saying Instagram was safe while hiding its own research about possible harms to teenagers, according to the Attorney General's lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office, according to Reuters.
The state says Meta had internal research showing Instagram could negatively affect teens' mental health but did not tell users about those findings. Tennessee claims Meta continued offering features it already knew could be harmful to young users without giving proper warnings.
The lawsuit says Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was warned several times by some company employees about research showing Instagram's negative impact on teenagers. Tennessee alleges Zuckerberg did not approve enough efforts to reduce those risks and also made misleading public statements about harmful content on Meta's platforms. The state wants the court to fine Meta and order Instagram to change features that it believes hurt teenagers' mental health, according to Reuters.
Instagram features under focus
Tennessee says several Instagram features encourage teens to keep using the app for long periods. These features include autoplay videos, Instagram Reels, frequent notifications, and disappearing content that creates pressure to check the app quickly.
Meta defends itself
Meta has rejected the allegations and says it already has safety tools designed to protect teenagers, according to a company spokesperson. The company said it has spent about 10 years building age-appropriate safety settings and tools that help parents control their children's social media use. Meta says it wants teenagers to use social media in a protected environment with built-in safeguards.
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Meta also argues that the claims are mostly about content posted by users, not about Instagram's design itself, according to Reuters. The company says Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects online platforms from being held legally responsible for content created by users.
How the Tennessee trial will work
Jury selection begins in Nashville on Monday. In the first phase, the jury will decide whether Meta broke Tennessee's consumer protection law. If the jury rules against Meta, the case will move to a second phase where a judge will decide the financial penalties and whether Instagram must change some of its features, according to Reuters. Tennessee law allows fines of up to $1,000 for each violation, according to Reuters. The entire trial is expected to last about seven weeks.
Meta faces more lawsuits across the US
The Tennessee case is one of several major trials Meta will face over similar allegations that its social media platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive. Nearly every US state has filed legal claims against Meta over the alleged impact of its platforms on children and teenagers. Another major trial is scheduled to begin on August 18 in California, where 29 states accuse Meta of violating federal child data protection laws along with other state laws.
California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are also bringing additional state-level claims against Meta in that case. Meta is also facing thousands of lawsuits from individuals and school districts in both state and federal courts over similar claims.
Another trial is scheduled to begin on July 27 against Meta and Snapchat parent Snap Inc. That lawsuit was filed by a 15-year-old boy from Florida, identified as R.K.C., who claims social media damaged his mental health, according to Reuters. Meta and Snap have denied those allegations, saying they have worked to protect children and should not be held responsible for content posted by users.
What happened in another state?
Tennessee's case is the second state trial against Meta over these allegations. Earlier this year, New Mexico also took Meta to trial over similar claims. A jury in New Mexico found that Meta had misled consumers about the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The jury awarded $375 million in damages to New Mexico, according to Reuters. A judge is still deciding whether Meta should make changes to its platforms and pay additional damages in the New Mexico case.
