Mosseri compares Instagram use to Netflix binge during court testimony: report
Former US Attorney for the State of Utah Brett Tolman discusses Big Tech in court over alleged social media addiction in ‘The Bottom Line.’
Instagram CEO Adam Moseri on Wednesday dismissed claims that the platform is dangerously addictive, reportedly telling directors of a high-profile study in Los Angeles that using the app is more comparable to binge-watching Netflix than to clinical addiction.
Mosseri, who has led Instagram since 2018, drew a distinction between clinical addiction and what he described as “problematic use,” the New York Post reported.
“I think it’s important to distinguish between clinical addiction and problematic use,” Mosseri said. “I’m sure I mentioned that I was addicted to a Netflix show when I binged the other night, but I don’t think it’s the same as a clinical addiction.”
Mosseri testified as part of a lawsuit brought by a California woman who said she started using Instagram at age 9 and later developed depression and body dysmorphia.
STANFORD PSYCHOLOGIST TESTIFIES IN CALIFORNIA TRIAL THAT INTERVIEWS ARE DESIGNED TO BE ADDICTIVE.
Instagram CEO Adam Moseri reportedly compared using the platform to watching Netflix in court. (Apu Gomes / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
He is suing Meta and Google’s YouTube, accusing the companies of deliberately targeting young users despite knowing the potential mental health risks, Reuters reports.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to take over the position in the coming weeks.
The case is widely seen as a test of the agency’s legal protections that shield social media companies from liability for user-generated content. The result could affect hundreds of similar cases across the country, according to Reuters.
Mosseri also wondered about Instagram’s beauty filters and whether they encourage inappropriate looks, the New York Post reported.
MARK ZUCKERBERG BECOMES CALIFORNIA’S NEWEST BILLIONAIRE TO MOVE TO FLORIDA AMID TAX CONCERNS
“I’m sure I mentioned that I was addicted to a Netflix show when I binged the other night,” Mosseri said, “but I don’t think it’s the same as a clinical addiction.” (Mona Edwards/Reuters/Reuters)
“There’s always a trade-off between security and speech,” Mosseri said. “We try to be as safe as possible and check as little as possible.”
Emails from 2019 presented in court show a debate over whether to lift the ban on filters simulating plastic surgery. Instagram policy, social media and health groups support keeping the ban in place, Reuters reports.
Mosseri and Zuckerberg support reinstating the filters but removing them from the recommendations — an option described internally as posing a “significant risk to well-being” while limiting the impact on growth, according to Reuters.
META PASHER IS ALERTED ABOUT 500K CHILDREN’S CRIMES EVERY DAY ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM PLATFORMS.
The case is widely seen as a test of the safeguards that currently protect social media companies from lawsuits related to user-generated content. (Jens Büttner/photo alliance via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“I was trying to balance all the different things,” Mosseri said.
Meta said the key question in this case is whether Instagram had a significant impact on the plaintiff’s mental health struggles.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
“The evidence will show that he faced many significant, difficult challenges before he used social media,” a Meta spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Meta did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
