Meta Platforms is due to stand trial in Tennessee over allegations that Instagram was deliberately designed to encourage compulsive use among children and teenagers, contributing to mental health problems.

The lawsuit, brought by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, claims the company violated the state's consumer protection law by knowingly creating addictive platform features while failing to disclose internal research indicating potential harm to young users.

According to the complaint, Meta executives, including chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, were repeatedly informed about research linking Instagram to negative effects on teenagers but chose not to invest sufficiently in measures that could reduce those risks.The state also alleges that Meta made misleading public statements regarding the safety of its platforms and the prevalence of harmful content.

Tennessee is seeking financial penalties and a court order requiring changes to features such as autoplay, Reels, notifications and disappearing content, arguing that these design choices encourage excessive engagement.

Meta rejects the allegations, stating that it has spent years introducing age-appropriate protections and parental supervision tools to improve safety for teenagers using its services.

The company also maintains that many of the claims relate to user-generated content and argues that Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act shields it from liability.The trial is expected to last around seven weeks and forms part of a much broader series of legal challenges facing Meta across the United States.

Numerous states, individuals and school districts have filed similar lawsuits concerning the impact of social media on young people's wellbeing, with additional major trials scheduled to begin later this year.