Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram since 2018, testified at a trial on Tuesday over whether Meta designed Instagram and Facebook to addict children without proper regards for their safety. During the testimony, Mosseri denied encouraging employees or knowing of a company policy to keep negative information away from the public.
The top executive at Instagram is a central witness in the lawsuit by 29 US states, in what experts call the biggest legal test yet of social media's effects on young users.
Four of the US states — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — have accused Meta of designing the platforms to hook young users, fueling anxiety, depression and even suicide, while misleading consumers about their safety.
All 29 states say Meta violated federal law by improperly collecting and using personal data of children under 13 while they used its platforms.
The states have indicated they could seek nearly $200 billion in civil penalties.
On the trial's fourth day, Mosseri rejected a suggestion by Jason Slothouber, a lawyer for Colorado, that he knew of an alleged Meta policy for lawyers to review internal presentations to scrub information from them, or shield him from problems
