Instagram boss says ‘No silver bullets’ for teen safety in Bellwether Trial

Instagram’s CEO testified Tuesday that the platform’s safety tools for teens have improved over time in a federal lawsuit brought by states over the social network’s harm to young users.

CEO Adam Mosseri claimed Instagram, which owns Meta, has strengthened protections for its young users, providing parental controls and enacting stricter restrictions for teenagers. Still, he acknowledged that some of the app’s tools didn’t change how much or how long young people used it.

“There are no silver bullets for problems like this,” Mr. Mosseri, 43, said in U.S. District Court in Oakland, California.

Mr. Mosseri, who has led Instagram since 2018, was the first Meta executive to testify in a lawsuit in which California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey accuse the social media giant of violating the federal Children’s Privacy Act and state consumer protection laws.

The case is part of a flurry of lawsuits filed by teenagers, schools and prosecutors who say social media use can lead to an addiction comparable to addiction to casino slots or cigarettes.

Meta has denied wrongdoing, saying there is no scientific evidence to prove its platforms are addictive. The company also pointed to a federal law that protects companies from liability for what its users post online.

The company lost two similar cases this year. In March, a young woman identified as KGM won a personal injury lawsuit in California Superior Court in Los Angeles County, resulting in $6 million in damages. This month, New Mexico won a consumer protection case against Meta in state court, resulting in nearly $1 billion in financial penalties.

In the latest trial, which began last week, the states accused Met of violating the federal Children’s Online Privacy Act, which prohibits the collection of data from minors without parental consent. The states also accused the company of misleading consumers by touting the safety of its platforms, even as executives discussed and studied harm to young people internally.

On Tuesday, Jason Slothouber, the states attorney, presented an internal meta document describing the company’s juvenile safety tools as “evidence points” that were not “effective in reducing the behavior.” He asked Mr. Mosseri if he was surprised. Mr. Mosseri said no.

Mr. Slothouber also showed internal reports from 2023 in which staff relayed a lawyer’s warning about the “risk of litigation” in connection with a presentation on youth safety.

“I’m not trying to encourage my team to hide anything,” Mr. Mosseri said.

Mr. Mosseri’s testimony followed that of Francesco Foga, Instagram’s director of product design, who said he meets with Mr. Mosseri once a month to discuss security features.

Mr. Slothouber asked Mr. Foga whether Meta had released tools aimed at teenagers, such as “Take a Break” and silent mode or sleep mode, as opt-in features, even though the company knew that opt-in settings were far less effective than opt-outs. Mr Fogu agreed and agreed again when asked if he understood that fewer people would use the tools if they were not automated.

Mr Mosseri is due to return to the witness stand on Wednesday. The state also plans to call Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify.