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.
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35 Articles
Might as Well Face It: We’re Addicted to Addiction Claims
Shortly before defeating incumbent John Cornyn in a “bitter” primary runoff for the Lone Star State’s Republican US Senate nominee this November, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Netflix. Among other allegations, the lawsuit contends that the streaming service “is engineered to be addictive” and that its “autoplay [function] is a dark pattern designed to override conscious decision-making, extend viewing sessions, and eliminate stopping cu…
Tennessee puts Instagram’s addictive design on trial as Meta faces a seven-week jury fight
Meta went on trial in Nashville on Monday over Tennessee’s allegation that it engineered Instagram to keep teenagers compulsively scrolling, one of the first state cases to put the question of addictive design before a jury. Jury selection began on 20 July in a proceeding expected to run about seven weeks, part of a wider wave […] This story continues at The Next Web
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 …
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