Meta Ignored Warnings on Instagram’s Teen Harm Risks, Tennessee Tells Jury

Meta disregarded its own internal research on the impact of Instagram on teenagers as it sought to maximise profits from young users, attorneys for the state of Tennessee told a jury on Monday.

During opening statements in a seven-week trial in a Tennessee state court in Nashville, lawyers for the state alleged that Meta’s researchers had repeatedly warned the company that some teenagers were using Instagram compulsively, with links to eating disorders, depression and self-harm.

The state argued that despite these warnings, Meta continued to operate features such as autoplay, notifications and infinite scrolling, which it claimed were designed to keep teenagers engaged for longer and increase advertising revenue.

Meta’s lawyer rejected the allegations, telling jurors that the company had been transparent about risks faced by teenagers on Instagram and the harmful content it identifies. He said Meta actively works to detect problems and improve safety measures on its platforms.

‘The Power of the Ping’

The lawsuit, filed by the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, seeks financial penalties and a court order requiring Instagram to modify features that the state claims are harmful to teenagers’ mental health.

If the jury finds Meta liable, the case will move to a second phase, where Chancellor Russell Perkins, the judge overseeing the trial, will decide whether the company should pay penalties and implement further changes to make Instagram safer for teenagers.

During opening arguments, which were observed by Reuters through Courtroom View Network, state attorney Tom Cartmell played the familiar notification sound of a smartphone alert. He argued that unpredictable rewards, such as notifications, trigger dopamine responses that encourage addictive behaviour, particularly among young users.

Cartmell told jurors that Meta understood the neuroscience behind why teenagers found its platform difficult to resist.

He presented an internal Meta document from 2017 in which product managers acknowledged that features such as notifications and infinite scrolling were “inherently at odds with well-being” and said the company needed to warn the public.

“That warning never came,” Cartmell told the jury.

Wider Legal Battle Over Social Media Platforms

Meta attorney Kevin Huff argued that the internal documents cited by Tennessee showed the company was actively identifying problems and working to address them.

He said Meta had introduced tools to reduce problematic Instagram use and was working to support parents and teachers in keeping teenagers safe online.

Huff urged jurors to consider whether Meta should be held solely responsible for wider societal issues, including suicide, child exploitation and addiction.

“Protecting teens online is a shared responsibility,” Huff said, adding that “it takes a village”.

Almost every US state has filed claims against Meta over allegations that its platforms harm children. More than two dozen lawsuits have been consolidated into multidistrict litigation in San Francisco, while several states have pursued separate cases in their own courts. Meta and other social media companies are also facing thousands of lawsuits from individuals and school districts.

Tennessee’s case is the second state lawsuit against Meta to reach a jury. Earlier this year, a New Mexico jury found Meta liable and ordered the company to pay $375 million. A judge is currently considering additional penalties and possible orders requiring changes to Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in the state.