Meta Platforms sued in Tennessee over teen Instagram harms
Attorneys for the state of Tennessee told a Nashville jury that Meta Platforms ignored internal research showing Instagram features such as autoplay, notifications and infinite scroll encourage compulsive use by teenagers, contributing to eating disorders, depression and self‑harm. The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, seeks financial penalties and a court order requiring Instagram to modify those features to protect teen mental health. The seven‑week state court trial, overseen by Chancellor Russell Perkins, entered opening statements with prosecutor Tom Cartmell playing a notification sound to illustrate the addictive design. Meta’s counsel, Kevin Huff, said the company has been transparent about risks and is actively developing tools to address harmful content.
If the jury finds Meta liable, a second phase will determine the amount of penalties and the specific changes required for Instagram. Internal documents from 2017 quoted product managers stating that notifications and infinite scroll are “inherently at odds with well‑being,” a warning the state says was never issued to the public.
Entities: Instagram · Jonathan Skrmetti · Meta Platforms · Russell Perkins · Tennessee
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 4 SOURCES] Internal research flagged that some teenagers were compulsively using Instagram, leading to eating disorders, depression and self‑harm. (internal research)
- [● 4 SOURCES] Meta did not disable Instagram features such as autoplay, notifications and infinite scroll despite warnings. (company action)
- [● 4 SOURCES] A 2017 internal Meta document said features like notifications and infinite scroll are “inherently at odds with well‑being.” (internal document)
- [● 4 SOURCES] The lawsuit filed by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti seeks financial penalties and a court order to modify Instagram. (lawsuit)
- [● 4 SOURCES] Meta’s lawyer Kevin Huff said the company has been transparent about teen risks and works to fix problems on its platforms. (company statement)
- [● 4 SOURCES] Meta Platforms' leadership disregarded internal research about Instagram's impact on teenagers. (internal research)
- [● 4 SOURCES] The trial is a seven‑week state court case in Nashville overseen by Chancellor Russell Perkins. (court details)
- [● 4 SOURCES] During opening statements, prosecutor Tom Cartmell played a notification sound to illustrate the platform’s design. (court demonstration)