Instagram boss Adam Mosseri has been drawn into a trial over alleged\nsocial media addiction among children at the Federal Court in Oakland,\nCalifornia, United States. Before the panel of judges, Mosseri admitted\nthat safety features to limit screen time were very rarely used by\nteenage users before being activated by default.<\/p>\n
The trial is part of a giant lawsuit filed by 29 US states against\nInstagram\u2019s parent company, Meta Platforms. Meta is accused of\ndeliberately designing Instagram and Facebook to make children addicted\nin order to reap profits.<\/p>\n
During questioning by Jason Slothouber, a lawyer representing the\nState of Colorado, Mosseri admitted that the percentage of teenagers\nusing the \u2018Take a Break\u2019 feature was in the single digits, or very low.\nYet when launching the feature in December 2021, Mosseri had claimed\nthat more than 90% of teenagers who activated it chose to keep it on.\nThe feature works by giving users a nudge to close the app after a\ncertain duration.<\/p>\n
Meta only made \u2018Take a Break\u2019 a default setting for teen accounts in\nSeptember 2024, nearly three years after it was first introduced. \u2018Most\nteenagers did not want it,\u2019 Mosseri said on the fourth day of the trial.\n\u2018But we decided to continue with it anyway,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Experts have touted this lawsuit as the biggest legal test in history\nregarding the impact of social media on the mental health of the younger\ngeneration. Four states \u2014 California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey\n\u2014 accuse Meta of deliberately designing platforms that captivate young\nusers, triggering anxiety, depression, and even suicidal behaviour. In\naddition, 29 states accuse Meta of violating federal law by illegally\ncollecting personal data of children under the age of 13.<\/p>\n
Cumulatively, the states are seeking staggering civil penalties worth\nnearly US$200 billion (around Rp 3,543 trillion). Meta strongly denies\nthe accusations. The company claims its internal research does not show\na clear causal relationship between social media use and a decline in\nteenage well-being.<\/p>\n
In court, Mosseri also dismissed accusations that he ordered the\nlegal team to filter or destroy sensitive internal data so that Meta\ncould avoid legal trouble. He said that following the scandal of leaked\n\u2018Facebook Files\u2019 documents by whistleblower Frances Haugen in 2021,\nInstagram did centralise sensitive research related to teenagers into\none special team to ensure data quality. \u2018I never encouraged my team to\nhide anything,\u2019 Mosseri insisted.<\/p>\n
However, testimony from Instagram\u2019s Product Design Director,\nFrancesco Fogu, revealed a different fact. Fogu admitted that his team\nhad removed data from a leadership presentation slide in 2023 showing\nthat teenage users were exposed to bullying, violence, and nudity\ncontent 1.5 times more than adult users.<\/p>\n
The trial in Oakland is projected to last six weeks. US District\nJudge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will determine the final decision regarding\ncivil penalties and system overhauls on Instagram and Facebook.<\/p>\n
Meta itself is facing mounting legal pressure over the impact of its\nproducts. In the Los Angeles case, a jury found Meta and Alphabet\n(Google) guilty of design negligence and ordered them to pay US$6\nmillion in damages to a 20-year-old woman who had been addicted since\nchildhood. In the New Mexico case, a judge ordered Meta to pay US$567\nmillion for teenage mental health treatment after its platform was\ndeemed a public nuisance.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/instagram-boss-dragged-to-court-as-addiction-case-worsens-1787737936", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }