Instagram head Adam Mosseri testifies in defense of Meta in child safety trial : NPR

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OAKLAND, Calif. – Instagram’s leader, Adam Mosseri, took the stand on Tuesday to discuss a feature introduced in 2021 aimed at helping teens manage their time on the app. He revealed that its adoption was lower than expected and expressed regret for not addressing the issue sooner.

Legal representatives from California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey have filed a lawsuit against Meta, Instagram’s parent company, alleging that both Instagram and Facebook were deliberately designed to be addictive for children and to collect their data. Meta’s lawyers have countered these claims in an Oakland courtroom, arguing that the company was mindful of overuse risks and made efforts to mitigate them.

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During the testimony, Mosseri discussed the “Take a Break” feature, which prompts teens to take a pause after extended app use. Evidence presented showed only 1.8% of teens used it. Mosseri admitted these reminders had limited impact.

The feature became default for teen accounts in late 2024, rendering initial low engagement irrelevant, Mosseri noted. However, Jason Slothouber from the Colorado Attorney General’s office pointed out this change occurred post-lawsuit in 2023.

The states claim Meta failed to disclose the feature’s ineffectiveness to users and parents, violating consumer protection laws. Slothouber mentioned a blog post by Mosseri asserting 90% of users kept the feature on, without noting the low initial usage.