Meta faces Tennessee courtroom battle over Instagram's allegedly addictive design

Meta is set to face trial in Tennessee on Monday over claims that Instagram's design contributed to the youth mental health crisis. The case is one of several trials scheduled in the coming weeks that will test allegations that the company's social media platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive.

Tennessee accuses Meta of violating the state's consumer protection law by knowingly implementing design features that encourage compulsive use among teenagers while misleading the public about their safety.

The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office, alleges that Meta failed to disclose extensive internal research showing Instagram could harm teenagers. It also claims the company continued offering features it knew were dangerous without providing adequate warnings to users.

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According to the state, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was repeatedly warned by Meta employees about research highlighting Instagram's negative impact on teenagers. However, he allegedly declined to allocate resources to reduce those harms and made misleading public statements about the amount of harmful content on the platform.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin in Nashville on Monday for the first phase of the trial. The jury will determine whether Meta violated Tennessee law. If it finds the company liable, the case will proceed to a second phase. Tennessee's consumer protection law allows for fines of up to $1,000 per violation.

The trial is expected to last about seven weeks and will overlap with at least two other trials against Meta in California, where the company faces thousands of lawsuits over similar allegations in both state and federal courts.

Nearly every U.S. state has filed claims against Meta over the alleged impact of its platforms on children. Another trial involving claims brought by 29 states alleges the company violated federal laws protecting children's data, along with additional state law claims filed by California.

A federal trial involving lawsuits from Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey against Meta is set to begin on August 18 in California. Separately, Meta and other social media companies face thousands of lawsuits from individuals and school districts, including a July 27 trial against Meta and Snap over claims that their platforms harmed a Florida teenager's mental health. The companies deny the allegations, saying they have taken steps to protect young users.

Meanwhile, Tennessee's case marks the second state-led trial against Meta after a New Mexico jury awarded the state $375 million, finding the company misled consumers about the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. A judge is still considering whether to order additional remedies and damages.

Meta under scrutiny in the EU

Instagram and Facebook's allegedly addictive design has also put Meta under scrutiny in the European Union for potentially violating the bloc's digital laws. Features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and highly personalised recommendation systems are alleged to encourage excessive use by constantly serving users new content.

The European Commission said Meta failed to adequately assess and address the risks its platforms pose to young users, including excessive nighttime use and addictive features such as Reels, Stories, autoplay and infinite scroll. The regulator has urged Meta to redesign these features by introducing safeguards such as screen time reminders and limiting addictive design patterns. If the Commission's preliminary findings are upheld, Meta could face a fine of up to 6% of its global annual revenue.