Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Brett Tolman Discusses Big Tech in Court Over Claims That Social Media Is Addictive on ‘The Bottom Line’.
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri on Wednesday pushed back on claims that the platform is dangerously addictive. He reportedly told jurors in a high-profile trial in Los Angeles that using the app is more akin to binge-watching Netflix than a clinical addiction.
Mosseri, who has led Instagram since 2018, drew a distinction between clinical addiction and what he described as “problematic use.” the New York Post reported.
“I think it’s important to distinguish between clinical addiction and problematic use,” Mosseri said. “I’m sure I said I was addicted to a Netflix show when I was drinking it very late one night, but I don’t think it’s the same as a clinical addiction.”
Mosseri testified as part of a lawsuit filed by a California woman who said she started using Instagram at age 9 and later struggled with depression and body dysmorphia.
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Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri reportedly compared platform use to binge-watching Netflix in court. (Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
She is suing Meta and Google’s YouTube, claiming the companies knowingly hooked young users despite being aware of potential mental health risks, Reuters reported.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to take the stand in the coming weeks.
The case is widely seen as a test of federal legal protections that shield social media companies from liability for user-generated content. The outcome could impact hundreds of similar lawsuits across the country, according to Reuters.
Mosseri was also asked about Instagram’s beauty filters and whether they promote unrealistic appearance standards, the New York Post reported.
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“I’m sure I said I was addicted to a Netflix show when I was drinking it very late one night,” Mosseri said, “but I don’t think it’s the same as a clinical addiction.” (Mona Edwards/Reuters/Reuters)
“There is always a trade-off between security and speech,” Mosseri said. “We try to be as safe as possible and censor as little as possible.”
Emails from 2019 presented in court show there is debate over whether the ban on filters that mimic plastic surgery should be lifted. Instagram’s policy, communications and well-being teams supported maintaining the ban, Reuters reported.
Mosseri and Zuckerberg favored reinstating the filters but removing them from recommendations, an option described internally as a “notable welfare risk” while limiting the impact on growth, according to Reuters.
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The case is widely seen as a test of safeguards that shield social media companies from user-generated content-related lawsuits. (Jens Büttner/photo alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“I was trying to balance all the different considerations,” Mosseri said.
Meta has said the central question in the case is whether Instagram was a substantial factor in the plaintiff’s mental health problems.
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“The evidence will show that she faced many significant, difficult challenges long before she ever used social media,” a Meta spokesperson said Tuesday.
