Meta Disregarded Its Own Research on Teen Harm, Tennessee Tells Jury
The state says Instagram was built to keep teens engaged, with 42 states now backing related claims against Meta.
- On Monday, Tennessee chancery court began hearing opening arguments in the state's lawsuit against Meta Platforms, Inc., alleging the company designed Instagram as an 'addiction machine' harming young users' mental health.
- Lawyers for Tennessee argued that Meta researchers repeatedly flagged compulsive use leading to eating disorders and self-harm, yet the company maintained features like infinite scroll to maximize advertising revenue.
- Attorney Tom Cartmell played a notification sound for jurors, arguing unpredictable alerts trigger dopamine hits in developing brains; a 2017 internal document showed Meta managers admitted features were 'inherently at odds with well-being.'
- Meta attorney Kevin Huff countered that the company is 'empowering others' to protect teens; if the jury finds Meta liable, Chancellor Russell Perkins will oversee a penalty phase to determine damages and platform changes.
- The lawsuit joins a broader legal battle across 42 states challenging liability protections for online platforms, as this represents the second state case to reach a jury amid thousands of individual and school district lawsuits against Meta.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Lawsuit claims Meta knew Instagram was harming teens but kept addictive features
During opening statements in a seven-week trial in state court in Tennessee, the state's lawyers said Meta researchers repeatedly flagged that some teenagers were compulsively using the platform
Tennessee tells jury Meta knew Instagram harmed teens and stayed silent
A jury in Nashville heard this week that Meta once concluded, in its own internal language, that the features keeping teenagers glued to Instagram were “inherently at odds with well-being”, and that the company then chose to say nothing about it. The line comes from a 2017 document that the state of Tennessee has placed […] This story continues at The Next Web
Meta ignored internal findings on Instagram's risks to teens, jury told in trial
Lawyers for the US state of Tennessee argued that the company ignored its own research linking Instagram to compulsive use, eating disorders, depression and self-harm among teenagers, while keeping features such as autoplay, notifications and infinite scroll to maximise time spent on the platform and advertising revenue.
Meta accused of disregarding teen harm research in landmark child safety trial
Meta reportedly disregarded its own research on teen harm, Tennessee lawsuit claims.In ongoing legal actions and high-profile child safety trials, Meta has faced intense scrutiny and accusations...
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