Instagram Chief Argues Social Media Not ‘Clinically Addictive’ in Landmark Trial

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri argued that social media is not “clinically addictive” in the latest from the landmark trial.

On the second day of the trial, which took place Wednesday before a jury in Los Angeles, Calif., the executive admitted that social media could cause harm, but noted there were safety protocols set in place for teenagers that were tested by Instagram before they are released on the app. He also denied that they put a greater focus on making money over the safety of their youngest users.

“There’s always trade-off between safety and speech,” Mosseri said, according to The New York Times. “We’re trying to be as safe as possible and censor as little as possible.”

Mosseri added in his statement that teenagers – or anyone – could become addicted to social media in the same way they could a great TV show, but that was not the same as being “clinically addictive.”

The case before a California Superior Court jury in Los Angeles involves accusations by KGM, the pseudonym for a 20-year-old woman, who claimed YouTube and Instagram — owned by Google and Meta, respectively — exacerbated her mental health issues and induced depressive episodes and suicidal thoughts after she became addicted to them at an early age. KGM sued a collection of social-media companies in 2023, settling with TikTok and Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, last month for undisclosed terms.

During Tuesday’s opening remarks, YouTube also defended itself by saying it was not a social media site at all. The site worked more as an entertainment platform, like Netflix, than a social media platform such as Facebook, its lawyer, Luis Li, said.

Mark Lanier, KGM‘s attorney, argued on Monday that internal documents from YouTube’s parent company, Google, referred to features as “slot machines.” He also pointed to Meta documents that showed employees had twice said its methods reminded them of tobacco companies.

KGM’s lawsuit stands as a landmark case for social media regulations going forward. If the prosecuting lawyers are successful, it could force companies to redesign their apps, pay out monetary damages and open the floodgates to a slew of new legal claims.

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