Instagram chief Adam Mosseri pushed back against claims Wednesday that the platform is dangerously addictive, reportedly telling jurors in a high-profile manner. Trial in Los Angeles that using the app is more comparable to binge-watching Netflix than suffering from clinical addiction.
Mosseri, who has run Instagram since 2018, made a distinction between clinical addiction and what he described as “problematic use.” the New York Post reported.
“I think it’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use,” Mosseri said. “I’m sure I said I was addicted to one Netflix show when I used it very late one night, but I don’t think it’s the same thing as clinical addiction. »
Mosseri testified in 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 using the platform to binge-watching Netflix in court. (Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
She is suing Google’s Meta and YouTube, alleging the companies knowingly hooked young users despite being aware of the potential mental health risks, Reuters reported.
CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg is expected to speak in the coming weeks.
The case is widely seen as a test of federal legal protections that protect social media companies from liability over user-generated content. The outcome could influence 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 watched it really late one night,” Mosseri said, “but I don’t think that’s the same thing as a clinical addiction.” (Mona Edwards/Reuters/Reuters)
“There’s always a tradeoff 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 debate over whether to lift the ban on filters mimicking plastic surgery. The politics of Instagramcommunications and wellness teams supported maintaining the ban, Reuters reported.
Mosseri and Zuckerberg favored reinstating the filters but removing them from recommendations, an option described internally as posing a “notable risk to well-being” while limiting the impact on growth, according to Reuters.
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The case is widely seen as a test of protections protecting social media companies from lawsuits related to user-generated content. (Jens Büttner/photo alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“I was trying to balance all the different considerations,” Mosseri said.
Meta said the central question in this case is whether Instagram was a significant factor in the plaintiff’s mental health issues.
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“The evidence will show that she faced many significant and difficult challenges long before used social media” a Meta spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Meta did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
