The head of Instagram denied claims that he or his teams concealed risks to young users, testifying on Tuesday in a federal court in Oakland, California, ahead of a trial brought by 29 U.S. states.
Adam Mosseri, who has led Instagram since 2018, told the court he never directed employees to hide information about adolescent mental health or safety. His remarks came during testimony in a lawsuit accusing Meta Platforms of designing its platforms to addict children and fuel anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation while misleading users about safety measures.
The states allege Meta violated federal law by improperly collecting and using personal data of children under 13. They are seeking potential civil penalties totaling around $200 billion. A jury in the Oakland federal trial is expected to issue an advisory verdict, with U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to determine liability and any penalties or platform changes.
Mosseri’s statements followed a New Mexico judge’s order in early August requiring Meta to pay $567 million to address adolescent mental health, after the state’s attorney general classified its platforms as a public nuisance. In a separate Los Angeles trial, a jury awarded $6 million to a 20-year-old woman who claimed she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child.
The lawsuit cites internal research showing that teen Instagram users were exposed to 1.5 times more content related to bullying, suicide, hate speech, nudity, and violence compared to adult users. Mosseri acknowledged Meta restricted access to sensitive adolescent research following the 2021 “Facebook Files” leak by whistleblower Frances Haugen, limiting data access to a single internal team.
He also asserted that leadership focused on addressing the most critical issues facing young users, rejecting allegations of systemic concealment of risks.
