Instagram boss: 16 hours of daily use is 'problematic,' not addiction

Source: BBC Technology

Trial overview

• The landmark trial began this week in Los Angeles and is expected to last six weeks.
• It serves as a test of legal arguments aimed at holding tech firms accountable for impacts on young people.
• The lead plaintiff, identified only by her initials K.G.M, alleges that Instagram contributed to her mental‑health struggles.
• Lawyers for Meta argue that K.G.M faced significant challenges in her life well before she used social media.
• YouTube is also named in the suit, while Snapchat and TikTok reached settlements ahead of the trial.

Mosseri’s testimony

• Adam Mosseri, who has led Instagram for eight years, became the first high‑profile executive to appear in court.

• He agreed that Instagram should do everything within its power to keep users safe, especially young people.

• Mosseri said it is difficult to define how much Instagram use is “too much.”

• He emphasized the need to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use:

  “I’ve been addicted to a Netflix show when I binged it late one night, but I don’t think it’s the same thing as clinical addiction.”

• When asked about a 16‑hour day of Instagram use by K.G.M, Mosseri called it “problematic use” but stopped short of labeling it an addiction.

Evidence and questions

• Lanier, the lead attorney for K.G.M, referenced an internal Meta survey of 269,000 Instagram users, which found that 60 % had seen or experienced bullying in the previous week.
• K.G.M had made over 300 reports to Instagram about bullying; Mosseri said he was not aware of this.
• Lanier asked Mosseri about a 2019 email exchange in which Meta executives discussed the potential negative impact of a feature that allowed users to change their physical appearance in photos.
  • Nick Clegg, former head of global affairs at Meta, warned that the company could be “rightly accused of putting growth over responsibility.”
  • Mosseri said Meta decided to ban image filters that went beyond mimicking makeup, though he later clarified that the ban had been “modified,” not lifted completely.

Reactions and comments

• Outside the courthouse, a mix of onlookers, protestors, and parents expressed concerns about social‑media addiction.
• Mariano Janin, who lost his 14‑year‑old daughter Mia to suicide in 2021, travelled from London to support restrictions on social‑media use for young users.
  • “If they changed their business model it would be different. They should protect kids. They have the technology; they have the funds,” Janin said.

Other companies and cases

• Meta and other social‑media platforms—including YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok—face thousands of additional lawsuits filed by families, state prosecutors, and school districts across the United States.
• High‑profile figures expected to testify include Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg and YouTube chief executive Neal Mohan.