Sourced from FLIPBOARD
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri told a court during a Los Angeles trial that he does not believe that users can be “clinically addicted” to the platform. His testimony was part of a series of significant social media trials accusing companies of intentionally designing addictive features that negatively impact young people’s mental health. Mosseri, the first executive to testify in the trials, refuted claims that the platform prioritized making money over the mental health of young users. “There’s always trade-off between safety and speech. We’re trying to be as safe as possible and censor as little as possible,” Mosseri said. He emphasized the importance of distinguishing between “clinical addiction” and “problematic use” when it comes to social media. Mosseri defines problematic use as “someone spending more time on Instagram than they feel good about.” The 43-year-old emphasized Instagram’s commitment to teen safety, noting that the platform tests new features for young users before launching them. The case centres around a 20-year-old referred to by the initials “KGM,” who claims her mental health was adversely affected by the platform’s addictive features. When asked about the plaintiff spending 16 hours on Instagram in a single day, Mosseri responded, “That sounds like problematic use.”
