JAKARTA – Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri denied that users could have “clinical addiction” to the platform during the first hearing of a major legal action over alleged social media addiction.
Mosseri is the first executive to testify in the trial of Meta, the group that controls Instagram and YouTube, in a complaint filed by a 20-year-old woman identified as Kaley. She accused the company of deliberately designing addictive features to bind young users and harm their mental health.
The complaint is the first in a list of more than 1,500 similar cases in court, and could potentially set a precedent that social media giants can be held responsible for the effects on adolescent mental health.
In his testimony, Mosseri said he did not believe a person could be “clinically addictive” to Instagram, while acknowledging the possibility of problematic use.
“I don’t think it’s possible to get addicted to Instagram, but problematic use is possible,” he said, comparing it to “watching TV longer than you feel comfortable with.” He also admitted that he was not a doctor.
In response to a question about reports that Kaley had spent more than 16 hours a day on Instagram, Mosseri responded, “That sounds like problematic usage.”
The plaintiff’s attorney, Mark Lanier, pointed to features like infinite scroll, autoplay and the like button that he called a “chemical rush” for teens seeking social validation. The complaint also accused beauty filters of worsening body dysmorphia and triggering cyberbullying and cyberextortion.
Lanier cites a 2019 internal Meta document that shows an internal debate over banning face-altering filters. One email says experts “agree on dangerous effects,” and another email says: “We’re talking about inducing body dysmorphia in young girls.”
Mosseri explains that Instagram has temporarily banned filters that distort the face, including those that promote plastic surgery. But this ban was later revised. Filters that change facial features, such as lip enlargement or nose reduction, are still allowed, but are no longer actively recommended.
Regarding the allegations of privileging profit, Mosseri denied that Instagram was targeting teenagers for profit. “We make less money from teens than we make from other demographics on the platform,” he said. “Teenagers don’t click on ads a lot and don’t have a lot of money to spend. »
He said his base salary was around US$900,000. per year, with a total remuneration of between 10 and 20 million US dollars. including bonuses and shares. But he insisted: “I have never worried about these things having an influence on our stock prices.”
Meta argued that Kaley’s mental health issues were more influenced by family circumstances and challenges in her life before using social media. “The evidence will show that she faced many significant challenges long before using social media,” a Meta spokesperson said.
To the contrary, Kaley’s attorney, Matthew Bergman, ruled that Mosseri’s testimony showed a conscious decision to prioritize growth over the children’s safety. “The evidence shows that Instagram is aware of the risks its product poses to young users, but it still launches features designed to keep children on the platform longer,” he said.
The lawsuit was also limited by Section 230, a U.S. federal law that protects technology companies from liability for content uploaded by users. The judge ordered that the question does not touch on aspects of the content that Kaley accessed using Instagram.
The jury’s verdict in this case could determine the direction of social media companies’ legal liability for the effects of their products on younger generations.
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date: 2026-02-12 22:03:00
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