Instagram head Mosseri, at children's addiction trial, says few teenagers knew of safety feature

Instagram head Adam Mosseri testified in a landmark US trial that few teenagers used the "Take a Break" safety feature before it was made the default in September 2024. Mosseri denied Meta stalled on safety, while states accuse the company of designing platforms to addict children, fueling anxiety and depression. The trial, brought by 29 states, could seek nearly $200 billion in penalties.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri testified in a landmark federal trial in Oakland, California, that few teenagers used the platform's "Take a Break" safety feature before Meta made it the default setting in September 2024. Under questioning from a Colorado attorney, Mosseri acknowledged that the percentage of teenage users who voluntarily used the feature was in the low single digits. Mosseri estimated in a December 2021 blog post that over 90% of teenage users who turned the feature on kept it on, but said "most teens didn't want it." The trial, brought by 29 US states, accuses Meta of designing Instagram and Facebook to addict children, fueling anxiety, depression, and even suicide. Four states — California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey — specifically allege Meta designed the platforms to hook young users while misleading consumers about safety. All 29 states say Meta violated federal law by improperly collecting and using personal data of children under 13. The states have indicated they could seek nearly $200 billion in civil penalties. Mosseri denied any suggestion that Instagram stalled by not making the feature the default sooner, and rejected the idea that he knew of an alleged policy allowing lawyers to review internal presentations to scrub information. The trial is expected to last six weeks, with an advisory verdict from jurors and a final decision on liability and penalties by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.