Meta faces Tennessee trial over allegations Instagram was designed to be addictive

Meta Platforms is set to face trial in Tennessee starting Monday, where jury selection will commence for the first phase of a case alleging the company violated state consumer protection laws. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti contends that Meta intentionally designed Instagram to be addictive, specifically targeting teens, and misled the public regarding the platform's safety. The seven-week trial represents a significant escalation in regulatory scrutiny of social media design practices.

The lawsuit asserts that Meta failed to disclose extensive internal research linking Instagram to harm among teenagers, while continuing to offer features known to be dangerous without adequate warnings. Skrmetti alleges that CEO Mark Zuckerberg was repeatedly advised by employees about the negative impacts on youth mental health but declined to fund harm-minimisation efforts. Instead, the state claims Zuckerberg made misleading public statements about the volume of harmful content on the platforms.

Central to the state's case are specific platform mechanics, including autoplay functions, Reels videos, notifications, and designs that cause content to disappear after a set period. The attorney general is seeking financial penalties and a court order to modify these aspects of the platform. If the jury finds Meta liable, a second phase will determine monetary penalties, which can reach up to $1,000 per violation, and potential court-ordered changes to the service.

In response, a Meta spokesperson stated that the company has spent a decade building safe, age-appropriate defaults for teens and providing tools for parents to set boundaries. The company argues that its liability is shielded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects platforms from responsibility for content posted by users. Meta maintains that it has built-in controls to protect users and that the state's claims are based on third-party content rather than the platform's design itself.

This proceeding is the second state-led trial against Meta, following a New Mexico verdict earlier this year where a jury awarded $375 million in damages for misleading consumers. Meta faces thousands of similar lawsuits globally, with nearly every US state filing claims regarding alleged harms to children. Additional trials include a multi-state federal case in California starting August 18 and a joint trial with Snap Inc in Florida beginning July 27.