Instagram chief rejects clinical addiction claim in landmark social media trial
Adam Mosseri, head of Meta-owned Instagram, testified this week in a closely watched landmark social media trial in Los Angeles , saying he does not believe users can be clinically addicted to social media platforms , a position central to a case seeking to hold technology companies responsible for harms to children and teenagers.
The trial is considered one of the most important legal tests yet of whether social media companies can be held liable for mental health impacts linked to their products. Plaintiffs argue that platforms are deliberately designed to encourage compulsive use , contributing to anxiety, depression, body image disorders and self-harm among minors .
Meta Platforms and Google’s YouTube are the two remaining defendants after TikTok and Snap reached settlements. The outcome is expected to influence thousands of similar lawsuits pending across the United States.
At the centre of the Los Angeles proceedings is a 20-year-old woman identified only as “KGM”, whose lawsuit is one of three selected as bellwether trials (test cases meant to assess how juries may respond to arguments from both sides) .
During testimony, Mosseri said it was important to distinguish between clinical addiction and what he described as “problematic use.” He defined problematic use as spending more time on Instagram than users feel comfortable with, adding that such behaviour does occur but should not be confused with a medical condition.
When confronted by the plaintiff’s lawyer, Mark Lanier , with past podcast remarks in which he had referred to social media as addictive, Mosseri said he had used the term “too casually” and clarified that he was not speaking as a medical expert.
He added that someone close to him had experienced serious clinical addiction , which made him cautious about using the term in connection with social media use.
Mosseri also defended Instagram’s approach to safety, saying the company aims to balance user protection with freedom of expression . “It’s not good for the company, over the long run, to make decisions that profit for us but are poor for people’s wellbeing,” he told the court.
A tense exchange unfolded over cosmetic and augmented reality filters , which critics say promote unrealistic beauty standards and fuel body dysmorphia and plastic surgery trends . Meta shut down all third-party augmented reality filters in January 2025 .
Members of the public, including bereaved parents of children affected by social media harms , appeared visibly distressed during testimony on body image and self-harm. The judge later reminded spectators that emotional reactions in court were improper.
In recent years, Instagram has introduced a range of teen safety tools , but independent research last year found that test teen accounts were still recommending age-inappropriate sexual content and material linked to self-harm and extreme body image issues .
Meta rejected the findings, calling the report “misleading” and saying it misrepresented the company’s efforts to protect young users. The company is also facing a separate social media harm trial in New Mexico that began this week, underscoring growing legal pressure on major technology firms over youth mental health and online safety.