Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, testified in a Meta trial regarding child safety and teen social media harm. He denied that the company concealed low usage of a teen safety feature or stalled the rollout of the 'Take a Break' tool. Discussions between Meta and multiple states about settling related lawsuits have occurred.
“Instagram CEO denies company hid low use of teen safety feature in Meta trial”
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Testimony shows platforms treated teen safety tools as afterthoughts to maximize engagement, with slow rollout and minimal awareness indicating business priorities over harm reduction.
“Need for regulatory oversight and default protections after voluntary measures failed”
Core business incentives favored addiction over restraint, and state lawsuits risk expanding regulatory power instead of restoring parental authority and cultural limits on screen time.
“Limits of corporate or government fixes; emphasis on personal and family responsibility”
Gradual rollout and minimal adoption reflect ordinary product decisions and user preferences, while settlement talks represent government pressure rather than market or parental solutions.
“Corporate autonomy and individual choice over regulatory mandates”
All views accept ex-staffer claims and usage metrics as settled without internal documents or A/B test details, and assume lawsuits represent accountability rather than potential rent-seeking.
“Overlooked questions of tool effectiveness, causation, and whether courts should dictate private platform design velocity”
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