Instagram head Adam Mosseri took the witness stand Wednesday in a Los Angeles courtroom to defend the social media platform against allegations it knowingly harmed young users, marking a pivotal moment in what could become a landmark case for the tech industry.
“We’re trying to be as safe as possible but also censor as little as possible,” Mosseri testified in the civil trial brought by a 20-year-old woman identified as Kaley, who claims Instagram and YouTube intentionally developed addictive features that harmed her mental health.
During his testimony, Mosseri drew a distinction between addiction and what he termed “problematic use” of social media. “I think it’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use,” said Mosseri, who acknowledged he is not a medical professional. “Yes, for an individual, there’s a such thing as using Instagram more than you feel good about,” he told the court.
When plaintiff’s attorney Mark Lanier asked if Mosseri was aware that Kaley had once spent over 16 hours in a single day on Instagram, Mosseri responded, “That sounds like problematic use.”
The case is considered a bellwether trial that could shape the outcome of more than 1,500 similar lawsuits against social media companies. Two other defendants originally named in the suit, TikTok and Snap, have already settled with the plaintiff.
The courtroom was filled with emotional observers, including parents who blame social media for their children’s deaths. Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl threatened to remove grieving mothers from the courtroom if they couldn’t contain their emotions during testimony, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Lanier questioned Mosseri extensively about Instagram’s controversial beauty filters, presenting internal emails from 2019 in which company executives debated whether to ban filters that mimicked plastic surgery. One email noted the filters were “primarily used by teen girls” and experts were “unanimous on the harm there.”
“We are talking about encouraging young girls into body dysmorphia,” another email from a Meta executive read.
Mosseri testified that Instagram initially banned all filters that distort faces but later modified the policy to only prohibit filters that specifically promoted plastic surgery, while continuing to allow those that alter facial features like enlarging lips or slimming noses.
When pressed about whether business considerations influenced these decisions, Mosseri said, “I was never concerned with any of these things affecting our stock price.” He also disputed claims that Instagram targets teens for profit, stating, “We make less money from teens than any other demographic on the platform. Teens don’t click on ads and they don’t have much expendable income.”
Kaley began using Instagram at age nine, according to her attorney, despite the app’s minimum age requirement of 13. Her lawsuit alleges that features such as “infinite scroll,” “autoplay,” and the “like” button were intentionally designed to be addictive, particularly to young users seeking validation from peers.
Meta’s defense team argues that Kaley’s difficult family life, not social media use, was responsible for her mental health challenges. “The evidence will show she faced many significant, difficult challenges well before she ever used social media,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
The trial is proceeding under certain limitations due to Section 230, a federal law that shields tech companies from liability over user-generated content. Judge Kuhl directed attorneys not to question Mosseri about Instagram’s content safety features or specific content Kaley was exposed to while using the platform.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify next week as the trial continues.
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