On the third day of a high-profile trial in Los Angeles, the head of Instagram challenged the notion that social media constitutes a "clinical addiction." Testifying before a jury in a case against Google and Meta, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri preferred to speak of "problematic use," arguing that it was necessary to distinguish between excessive behavior and a diagnosed medical disorder.
The case concerns the responsibility of online platforms in the intensive consumption of content by minors. At the heart of the case is a young American woman, now 20 years old, who was exposed to YouTube and Instagram from adolescence. The plaintiffs accuse the companies of having designed recommendation tools that encourage compulsive viewing, particularly through their personalization algorithms.
Algorithms and responsibility
Faced with questions from the plaintiff's lawyer, the head of Instagram acknowledged having used the term "addiction" in the past in a "too casual" manner, while maintaining that he was not qualified to make a medical diagnosis. He defended Meta's approach, arguing that protecting minors was not incompatible with the group's economic performance and that a negligent approach would ultimately harm the company itself.
This trial is considered a test case for dozens of similar lawsuits filed in the United States. It doesn't directly concern the published content, but rather the design of the platforms and their ability to capture attention. Mark Zuckerberg's expected testimony next week could mark a turning point in this litigation, which has major financial and societal implications.
