Meta faces Tennessee trial over allegations Instagram was designed to be addictive
The state says Meta ignored internal research and kept risky features on Instagram, while seeking penalties and court-ordered product changes.
- On Monday, Meta Platforms faced trial in Nashville, Tennessee, over state claims that Instagram's design fuels a youth mental-health crisis, one of several cases testing allegations the platform was intentionally built to be addictive.
- Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office alleges Meta failed to disclose internal research showing Instagram harms teens and knowingly designed the product to drive compulsive use while misleading the public about safety.
- Meta denies the allegations, arguing that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields it from liability for user-posted content and that it offers age-appropriate safety tools and parental controls.
- The jury will decide if Meta violated Tennessee's consumer protection law, which levies fines of up to $1,000 per violation; if liable, the case moves to a second phase determining monetary penalties and platform changes.
- This is Tennessee's second state trial against Meta; a New Mexico jury previously found the company misled consumers about platform safety, while 29 states head to federal court in California on August 18.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Tennessee's Case Against Meta Begins This Week over Instagram's Alleged Harm to Teens
Jury selection began Monday in Davidson County Chancery Court in Tennessee's lawsuit against Meta Platforms, launching what is expected to be a weeks-long trial over allegations that Instagram was intentionally designed to encourage compulsive use among children and teenagers.
Tennessee trial claims Instagram is addictive for teens: What to expect
Jury selection began Monday for a high-profile lawsuit in Nashville, Tennessee, against Meta, claiming that its platforms were designed to hook teenagers. The state’s attorney general says that the publicly traded company purposefully hid evidence that Instagram is addictive. Meta denies the claims. The case lands at a moment when a growing body of lawsuits has been filed against social media platforms, alleging that big tech companies hid the …
Snap Nears Settlement of Addiction Case Ahead of Jury Trial
Snap Inc. said it has reached a tentative agreement to settle the second case set for trial over claims that the world’s largest social media platforms are addictive to minors, leaving only Meta Platforms Inc. to face a jury starting next week in Los Angeles.
Meta Platforms will start being judged in Tennessee on Monday (20), because of the state's claims that Instagram's design is responsible for a mental health crisis among young people, in one of several trials in the coming weeks that will test accusations that the company's social media platforms were intentionally built to generate dependency. Tennessee accuses the company of violating the state consumer protection law by consciously designing …
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