Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram at Meta Platforms Inc., took the stand Tuesday during a high-stakes social media addiction trial, asserting that he does not instruct his team to withhold information that could expose the company to legal liabilities.
“I’m not trying to encourage my team to hide anything,” Mosseri stated on his first day of testimony at the federal courthouse in Oakland, California. His remarks came in response to questioning from Jason Slothouber, a trial attorney representing the Colorado Attorney General’s office.
Slothouber pressed Mosseri on whether he was aware that Meta’s legal counsel might have instructed internal staff not to share research findings related to the safety of children under 13 and the mental health of teenagers. Mosseri indicated he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Meta’s lawyers reviewed child safety research for complex legal and policy considerations. However, he expressed that he would be taken aback if the primary motivation for such reviews was to shield the company from potential litigation or to mislead the public.
The landmark trial, initiated last week, is being jointly led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with his counterparts from Colorado, New Jersey, and Kentucky. This coalition of 29 state Attorneys General alleges that Meta has violated the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and consumer protection statutes. They are seeking penalties that could potentially amount to $200 billion. A core tenet of their claim is that Meta executives, including Mosseri and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have publicly misrepresented certain child-safety features and related internal research. Meta has vehemently denied these allegations.
During his testimony, which commenced late in the day, Mosseri acknowledged that Meta had indeed restricted the number of employees with access to certain internal research following the 2021 whistleblower revelations by Frances Haugen. Haugen’s disclosures, which involved corporate documents pertaining to children’s and teenagers’ mental health, ignited widespread scrutiny of Meta’s practices.
Mosseri explained that these policy changes were implemented because “we don’t want anything to be taken out of context.” He drew a parallel to the situation surrounding the leaked documents, which were published by The Wall Street Journal as part of “The Facebook Files” series, and he suggested that executives felt their communications were misrepresented.
Contrasting with the plaintiffs’ assertions, Mosseri refuted the suggestion that Meta reduced the number of researchers focused on youth mental health harms after Haugen’s leaks. “I disagree with that characterization,” Mosseri stated. “I don’t think the team was smaller; it was just centralized.”
Mosseri’s testimony is scheduled to continue on Wednesday, as the trial probes deeper into Meta’s internal practices and its public pronouncements regarding user safety, particularly for younger demographics. The outcome of this trial could have profound implications for the future of social media regulation and platform accountability.
The legal proceedings are examining Meta’s algorithmic design, its impact on adolescent mental well-being, and whether the company has adequately prioritized user safety over engagement metrics. Experts in digital psychology and platform governance are closely watching the proceedings, recognizing the potential for a precedent-setting ruling that could reshape how social media companies operate and are held accountable. The focus on internal research and executive testimony underscores the critical role of transparency and due diligence in navigating the complex ethical landscape of the digital age.
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