Instagram chief rejects social media addiction claims during US trial

New Delhi: Instagram head Adam Mosseri told a California court that social media should not be equated with clinical addiction, as he became the first technology executive to testify in a series of lawsuits brought by families and school districts against major platforms, according to news reports.

Mosseri appeared on the witness stand on Wednesday in Los Angeles, where plaintiffs allege that companies including Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube knowingly designed products that foster compulsive use and harmed young people’s mental health. The proceedings form part of a set of bellwether trials intended to test how juries respond to the claims.

“I think it’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use,” Mosseri said in court. Psychologists do not formally recognise social media addiction as a clinical diagnosis, though researchers have documented potential harms linked to compulsive use among young users.

The initial case centres on a 20-year-old plaintiff identified as KGM, who alleges that Instagram’s design features, including infinite scrolling, worsened her depression and suicidal thoughts.

As per the news reports, lawyers for the plaintiffs questioned Mosseri about whether the platform prioritised growth over user safety and about the potential influence of cosmetic filters. Mosseri said the company tests new features intended for younger users before they are rolled out and added, “We are trying to be as safe as possible but also censor as little as possible.”

Some families involved in the case said the testimony reinforced their concerns. Matthew P Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center and a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement, “Adam Mosseri’s testimony under oath today revealed what families have long suspected: Instagram’s executives made a conscious decision to put growth over the safety of minors.”

Court proceedings also referenced internal company communications cited by the plaintiffs’ legal team, in which employees discussed the potentially addictive nature of social media platforms. In one exchange, an employee wrote that “IG is a drug,” with another responding that all social media platforms could be seen in similar terms. Another internal comment cited in court suggested that discussion of dopamine effects on teenagers had prompted concern within the company.

Family members of young people who they say were harmed by social media attended the hearing. Among them was John DeMay, whose 17-year-old son Jordan died by suicide in 2022 after being targeted in a sextortion scheme conducted through a hacked Instagram account. DeMay said ahead of Mosseri’s testimony that public scrutiny of internal documents and court proceedings could influence how companies respond to such cases.

The lawsuits focus on claims that platforms knowingly designed features to encourage prolonged engagement rather than on individual pieces of harmful content, a legal approach that has allowed plaintiffs to pursue action outside certain federal protections for online platforms. Lawyers for the companies have disputed the scientific basis for claims of addiction and have argued that individual mental health issues cannot be attributed solely to social media use.

The trial follows earlier hearings in which plaintiffs’ lawyers cited internal company documents to argue that platforms targeted younger users, while technology firms rejected the allegations.