Instagram head Adam Mosseri told a California court on Tuesday that he never encouraged employees to hide negative information about children’s safety. He testified in a trial brought by 29 US states against Meta.
DR reports that Mosseri rejected claims that he urged staff to keep negative findings from the public. He also denied knowing of any company policy designed to shield him from internal problems. The case concerns whether Meta built Instagram and Facebook to make children addicted without sufficient regard for their safety.
Mosseri has led Instagram, which is owned by Meta, since 2018. According to Reuters, he took the stand in federal court in Oakland on the trial’s fourth day. He is described as a central witness in what legal experts have called the largest test yet of social media’s effect on young users.
The lawsuit rests on claims from 29 states. Four of them, California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, accuse Meta of designing the platforms to hook young users, contributing to anxiety, depression and suicide. All 29 states also allege that Meta broke federal law by collecting and using personal data from children under 13.
In court, Colorado attorney Jason Slothouber pressed Mosseri on an alleged Meta practice in which company lawyers review internal presentations and strip out information. Mosseri rejected the claim, saying it matters that Instagram’s information on child safety is high quality and backed by experts. Per DR, he said he could recall no occasion where he asked staff for less information.
Reuters adds that Mosseri was questioned about Instagram’s “Take a Break” feature, introduced in 2021. He said few teenagers used it before it was switched on by default, estimating usage in the low single digits. As reported by NPR, he said pop-up notifications encouraging breaks helped less than the company had hoped.
Defense of teen safety measures
The New York Times describes Mosseri as the first Meta executive to testify in the trial. He said there are no simple fixes for teen safety and pointed to parental controls and stricter rules for teen accounts. He also conceded that some safety tools did not significantly reduce the time teenagers spent on the platform.
Mosseri said Instagram became more careful with sensitive data after the 2021 Facebook Files leak. Whistleblower Frances Haugen alleged then that Meta knew its products harmed children but did not act. According to The Guardian, access to sensitive data on teenage users was limited to a single team.
Meta denies that it tried to make children addicted to increase profits. The company argues its research shows no clear link between young people’s social media use and poor well-being. Reuters notes that Meta has also called the internal documents cited by the states cherry-picked.
Reuters reported on June 30, 2026 that a federal judge rejected Meta’s attempt to dismiss key claims in the case. Jury selection followed in mid-August, and the trial is scheduled to run for several weeks.
