Meta faces Tennessee trial after $375 million New Mexico verdict

Tennessee's lawsuit against Meta Platforms over Instagram's addictive design marks the second state trial testing whether social media companies can be held liable for youth mental-health harms.

Meta Platforms faces trial in Tennessee starting Monday over claims that Instagram's design intentionally drives teens to compulsive use, part of a wave of litigation that already produced a $375 million verdict against the company in New Mexico. The state's lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, accuses Meta of violating Tennessee's consumer protection law by knowingly designing an addictive product and misleading the public about its safety.

"Meta knew its platform was harming teens and chose profits over safety," Skrmetti said in the complaint, which alleges the company failed to disclose internal research showing Instagram's adverse effects on young users.

The trial, expected to last seven weeks in Nashville, focuses on features including autoplay, Reels videos, notifications and disappearing content. Tennessee seeks financial penalties of as much as $1,000 per violation and a court order requiring design changes to the platform.

The case is the second state trial against Meta after New Mexico won a $375 million jury verdict earlier this year. Nearly every US state has filed similar claims against the company, with a consolidated trial involving 29 states set to begin Aug. 18 in federal court in California. A separate case brought by a 15-year-old Florida boy known as R.K.C., who alleges social media damaged his mental health, is scheduled for trial July 27 against both Meta and Snap Inc.

Meta has argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields it from liability for third-party content posted on Instagram. The company also pointed to built-in safety controls it has developed over the past decade, including age-appropriate defaults for teens and parental supervision tools.

"We want them to do that in a protected space, which is why we've spent a decade building safe, age-appropriate defaults for teens alongside simple tools for parents to set the right boundaries for their family," a Meta spokesperson said.

The New Mexico verdict awarded $375 million after a jury found Meta had misled consumers about the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The judge in that case is still weighing whether to order additional design changes and damages for public nuisance claims. The Tennessee case could set a similar precedent, potentially forcing Meta to alter core features of Instagram that drive user engagement and advertising revenue.

If Tennessee prevails, the ruling could embolden other states and accelerate regulatory pressure on Meta. The company faces thousands of additional lawsuits from individuals and school districts in both state and federal courts, creating a mounting legal overhang that investors are closely watching.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.