Adam Mosseri Testifies He Was Unaware Instagram Staff Restricted Access to Teen Safety Information

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, testified on Tuesday in Meta’s ongoing trial concerning social media addiction and children’s privacy. During his testimony, Mosseri stated that he was not previously informed that Instagram employees had been instructed by a company lawyer to “limit” certain data presented to him during his work on teen safety initiatives.

Mosseri’s appearance was part of a significant legal proceeding between Meta and attorneys general from multiple states. The states’ legal representatives have alleged that Meta deliberately attempted to engage young users on its platform despite internal research indicating that its applications were causing harm to younger demographics.

Internal research revealed during Tuesday’s proceedings included a 2023 presentation prepared by Instagram designers and other staff members regarding teen safety on the platform. The documentation showed that content related to suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders had a “disproportionately large teen audience” that was two and a half times larger among teenagers compared to adults. The materials also indicated that content deemed “non-recommendable” for teenagers was being accessed by teens at a rate 1.5 times higher than adult users.

According to messages presented during the trial, a company lawyer subsequently instructed Instagram employees working on the presentation to remove those statistics in order to “limit” Mosseri’s “exposure to this information.” During his testimony, Mosseri stated that he had never participated in discussions about restricting his own access to information. “I’m not a legal expert, so I’m not sure what the reasons might be for removing information from presentations before they get to me, but [I’m] not trying to encourage my team to hide anything,” he stated. “My understanding is that if there are legal implications of certain work, lawyers review the material.” He characterized the lawyers’ role as ensuring document accuracy and that materials “make sense, particularly when it’s about whether or not something we’re doing complies with the law.”

Mosseri’s remarks followed testimony from Instagram’s Director of Product Design, Francesco Fogu, who discussed the July 2023 presentation and deliberations regarding which statistics to include. Fogu stated that he was “surprised” because he had never previously been instructed to “hide data from leadership.” He ultimately communicated the data to Instagram’s leadership “vocally,” he explained. He noted that the information remained accessible to executives because it was detailed in reports linked within the presentation. During cross-examination by Meta’s attorney, he stated that the presentation was successful as it served as the “catalyst” for the creation of Instagram’s teen accounts.

A feature that received repeated attention during the testimonies of both Mosseri and Fogu was Instagram’s “take a break” tool, which reminds users to stop scrolling. According to data from Meta, only 1.8 percent of Instagram users initially opted into the feature following its introduction in 2021. Fogu, who remains employed at Meta, repeatedly stated that he was uncertain about the accuracy of that figure.

At one point, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers asked Fogu whether he was aware of the highest adoption rate the feature had ever achieved. Fogu responded that he did not know. “You’re the head of this and you don’t know what the highest it’s ever been,” she observed. “I do not create the dashboards for collecting data. I do not read data. That’s not my job. I just trust my team,” he explained. Rogers responded: “And yet, even though you have to trust them, even though you have to design things, you have no idea what those numbers are as you sit here today.”

Fogu was not the first witness to provide testimony regarding “take a break.” The jury also heard from George Volichenko, a former data scientist at Meta, who characterized the feature’s adoption rate among teenagers as “very low and disappointing” following its introduction in 2022. Volichenko reported that early findings showed only 0.165 percent of teenagers chose to take a 10-minute break from Instagram, though adoption subsequently increased to 0.2 percent. He described the feature as “easy to dismiss.”

Mosseri also faced questioning regarding “take a break” and its adoption rate. The Instagram chief appeared frustrated with the emphasis on this feature. “This is one feature with a disappointingly low usage rate, which has been significantly improved,” he stated. Mosseri noted that Instagram’s teen accounts, which are now mandatory for users under 16, have time limits enabled by default. “There are many features that are effective, there are many features that are ineffective,” he continued. “One in 50 people today will post a photo or a video to Instagram. That’s a 2% participation rate.”

Mosseri is the first high-profile Meta executive to provide testimony in this trial, which could have significant implications for the company. The states’ attorneys are seeking penalties of up to $1.4 trillion and hoping to compel the company to modify aspects of its app design. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is also expected to testify, along with other current and former employees. Mosseri’s testimony is scheduled to continue on Wednesday.

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