Instagram Boss Denies His App Can Cause Clinical Addiction, Sued by Teenager in Historic Trial

JAKARTA - Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri denied that users could experience "clinical addiction" to the platform in the first hearing of a major lawsuit related to alleged social media addiction.

Mosseri became the first executive to testify in a trial against Meta, the parent company of Instagram and YouTube, over a lawsuit by a 20-year-old woman identified as Kaley. He accused the company of deliberately designing addictive features to bind young users and damage their mental health.

The lawsuit is the first of more than 1,500 similar cases to go to court, and could potentially set a precedent for whether social media giants can be held responsible for the impact on teenagers' mental health.

In his testimony, Mosseri said he didn't believe someone could be "clinically addicted" to Instagram, though he acknowledged the possibility of problematic use.

"I don't think it's possible to be addicted to Instagram, but problematic use is possible," he said, comparing it to "watching TV for longer than you feel comfortable with." He also admitted that he was not a doctor.

When asked about reports that Kaley had spent more than 16 hours a day on Instagram, Mosseri replied, "That sounds like problematic use."

The plaintiff's lawyer, Mark Lanier, highlighted features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and like buttons that he called "chemical push" for teenagers looking for social validation. The lawsuit also accused beauty filters of worsening body dysmorphia as well as triggering bullying and sextortion.

Lanier cited a 2019 internal Meta document that showed internal debates about banning face-altering filters. One email said experts were "in agreement on the harmful impact," and another email stated, "We're talking about pushing young girls into body dysmorphia."

Mosseri explained that Instagram had banned filters that distorted faces, including those that promoted plastic surgery. However, the ban was later revised. Filters that change facial features such as enlarging lips or thinning the nose are still allowed, but are no longer actively recommended.

Regarding the accusation of prioritizing profit, Mosseri denied that Instagram targeted teenagers for profit. "We make less money from teenagers than other demographics on the platform," he said. "Teenagers don't click on ads as much and don't have much income to spend."

He said his base salary was around US$900,000 per year, with total compensation potentially exceeding US$10 million to US$20 million including bonuses and shares. However, he stressed, "I have never worried that these things affect our share price."

Meta argued that Kaley's mental health problems were more influenced by family conditions and the challenges of her life before using social media. "Evidence will show that she faced many significant challenges long before using social media," said a Meta spokesperson.

On the other hand, Kaley's lawyer, Matthew Bergman, assessed Mosseri's testimony showed a conscious decision to prioritize growth over children's safety. "The evidence shows that Instagram is aware of the risks of its product to young users, but still launches features designed to keep children on the platform longer," he said.

The trial was also limited by Section 230, a US federal law that protects technology companies from liability for user-uploaded content. The judge directed that the question not touch on the content Kaley accessed while using Instagram.

The jury's verdict in this case has the potential to determine the direction of the legal responsibility of social media companies for the impact of their products on young generations.