Adam Mosseri, who has headed Instagram since 2018, gave testimony on Tuesday in a significant legal proceeding against Meta involving 29 US states. The states allege that Meta intentionally designed its platforms to be addictive to young people and failed to adequately disclose safety risks to consumers.
Mosseri acknowledged during questioning that adoption of the “Take a Break” feature, which prompts teenage users to close the app after extended use, remained in the low single digits before Instagram made it a default setting in 2024. The executive stated that most teenagers did not initially want the feature, but the company proceeded with implementing it anyway. He also confirmed that Meta did not publicly disclose the feature’s low adoption rates, which had reached only 1 to 2 percent of accounts.
The lawsuit represents what legal experts describe as the most significant challenge to social media platforms on the grounds of effects on youth wellbeing. Four states—California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey—have specifically accused Meta of designing platforms to hook young users, causing anxiety, depression, and in some cases suicide. All 29 states involved assert that Meta violated federal law by improperly collecting and using personal data of children under 13. The states are seeking approximately $200bn in damages.
Former Meta employees have provided corroborating testimony that safety features such as Take a Break and Quiet Mode were intentionally difficult to locate and rarely adopted. Arturo Bejar, a former engineering director, characterized Take a Break as “a feature that’s designed to fail.” Data scientist George Volichenko stated that company leadership rejected proposals to activate such features by default, citing concerns about negative effects on user engagement metrics.
Meta has disputed the allegations, maintaining that its research found no clear link between adolescent social media usage and reduced wellbeing. The trial is expected to continue for six weeks, with jurors issuing an advisory verdict. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will ultimately determine Meta’s liability and any resulting civil penalties or operational changes to its platforms.
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