A group of more than three dozen US states has sued Meta, alleging the social media platform deliberately deployed manipulative and addictive features in order to hook young users in their hunt for profit, while misleading the public about their actual harms.

In a complaint filed on Tuesday in California federal court, a coalition of 33 state attorneys-general argued that Meta and its photo sharing app Instagram used “harmful and psychologically manipulative product features to induce young users’ compulsive and extended platform use”.

The lawsuit comes amid growing concern over a teen mental health crisis that some researchers and politicians have attributed to social media usage. An additional nine attorneys-general are filing separate lawsuits against Meta in their respective states.