Instagram Chief Dismisses “Clinical Addiction” Claims in Landmark Social Media Trial
Tech News, Los Angeles,12 February: In a high-stakes legal battle that could redefine the liability of tech giants, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri reject allegations that social media platforms are designed to be “clinically addictive.”
The testimony comes during the third day of a “bellwether” trial in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where Meta (parent of Instagram and Facebook) and Google-owned YouTube are defending themselves against claims that their products intentionally exploit adolescent psychology for profit.
During hours of intense questioning, Mosseri sought to draw a sharp line between what he termed “problematic use” and medical addiction. “I do think it’s possible to use Instagram more than you feel comfortable about,” Mosseri testified in a calm tone. “But I disagree with the idea that people can be clinically addicted to social media platforms.”
The plaintiff’s lead attorney, Mark Lanier, countered this by presenting a past podcast interview where Mosseri himself had used the word “addiction” to describe social media habits. Mosseri clarified that he had been using the term “too casually” at the time and was not speaking as a medical expert.
The trial centers on a lawsuit filed by a 20-year-old woman alleges that her use of YouTube (starting at age six) and Instagram (starting at age 11) led to severe mental health struggles, including depression and body dysmorphia.
Lanier argued that features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmic recommendations function like “digital casinos,” creating a biological dopamine loop that children are unequipped to resist.
While Meta focuses on the science of addiction, YouTube’s legal team has adopted a different strategy. Attorney Luis Li argued that YouTube is primarily a video-hosting platform rather than a social network.
Li presented data showing that the plaintiff’s average daily watch time on YouTube Shorts—the vertical video feature most comparable to TikTok—was just one minute and 14 seconds. “Infinite scroll is not infinite,” Li told the jury, arguing that the data does not support a claim of compulsive usage.
This case is the first of thousands of similar lawsuits pending across the United States. While TikTok and Snap recently settled their portions of the case for undisclosed amounts, Meta and Google have chosen to fight. A verdict against the tech giants could bypass Section 230, the federal law that typically shields platforms from liability for user-generated content, by focusing instead on the defective design of the apps themselves.
