Instagram chief says he does not believe people can get clinically addicted to social media
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri testified in a Los Angeles social media trial on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, stating his disagreement with the concept of clinical social media addiction.
The story so far
- Feb 9
- Feb 10
- Feb 11
- Feb 12
How outlets cover it
4 outletsNot rated on the left–right scale. It describes Western party politics and doesn’t fit state media or outlets outside that system, so we show ownership and country instead.
Open questions and key claims
This was only the first case — there are hundreds of parents and school districts in the social media addiction trials that start today.
Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt spoke of disagreement within the scientific community over social media addiction.
Lanier said Meta and Google have “engineered addiction in children’s brains.”
Instagram’s CEO dismissed the idea that users can be addicted to social media.
One employee suggested in an internal correspondence that “IG is a drug”.
Zuckerberg demanded 'time spent increases by 12%' on Meta platforms in 2015.
Social media companies accused of creating 'addiction machines'.
Meta and YouTube lawyers claim K.G.M.'s addiction stemmed from other issues.
Who and where
Related stories over time
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