Instagram chief admits touting teen safety tool while omitting it was barely used

Adam Mosseri, Instagram's chief at Meta, confirmed in a California courtroom that he promoted new safety tools for teenagers while downplaying their poor adoption rates from earlier testing. This revelation comes amid a lawsuit by 29 US states accusing Meta of intentionally designing its products to lure children, gather their data, and mislead the public.

The trial, which began its second week on Monday and is set to last until late September, has seen witnesses testify about the ineffective nature of the tools, known as Take a Break and Quiet Mode, launched in 2021 and 2023, respectively. Mosseri admitted that the adoption rates were low, initially pointing to around 1-2% of accounts, but later clarified that these features were turned on by default in Teen Accounts due to parental controls introduced in 2024.

However, he couldn't recall if Meta had previously disclosed the percentage of teen accounts with parental controls activated. Meta's leadership, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is expected to provide testimony in the coming days, with potential consequences including a $200 billion penalty if convicted.