Kansas City, MO–January 28, 2026–Wagstaff & Cartmell announced today that it has been formally engaged by the State of Tennessee as outside counsel in connection with the State’s litigation against Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta”), the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, alleging violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act.

The lawsuit, originally filed by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, contends that Meta violated Tennessee’s consumer protection laws by engaging in unfair business practices—including designing Instagram features that exploit young users’ developmental vulnerabilities—and by deceiving consumers about the platform’s safety. The State alleges that Instagram causes and contributes to mental health harms among young people, including addictive patterns of use, depression, anxiety, and disrupted sleep. The State claims that Meta long understood these dangers, but failed to take meaningful steps to mitigate Instagram’s risks or to disclose them to parents and the public. The Complaint further alleges that Meta executives continued to prioritize profits over child safety and misled the parents and the public about its platform’s risks for young people.

“Our firm has developed deep expertise in social media litigation through our ongoing work in federal and state court consolidated actions,” says Tom Cartmell, founding partner at Wagstaff & Cartmell. “We look forward to bringing that experience to bear on behalf of Tennessee’s families.”

The Tennessee complaint, originally filed in October 2023, shows that Meta’s internal research teams found that specific Instagram features made the platform particularly addictive and harmful to teens, yet the company did nothing to modify the platform and did not share this information with the public. “When a company prioritizes growth and profits over children’s mental health, there must be consequences,” says Lindsey Scarcello of Wagstaff & Carmell. “Protecting the health and safety of our young people should be society’s top priority.”

For more details about the State of Tennessee’s lawsuit against Meta, please visit the Tennessee Attorney General’s website: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/news/2024/1/10/pr23-03.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com