OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Adam Mosseri, the Meta executive at the helm of Instagram, defended the platform's safety record in testimony Tuesday and took issue with a plaintiff attorney's emphasis on low usage numbers for a feature designed to encourage young users to take breaks.
Mosseri was appearing at a trial that pits Meta against the states of California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, which accuse the social media giant of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms.
Jason Slothouber, a senior prosecutor for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, pressed Mosseri on the low adoption rate among teens for the “take a break” feature, which prompts users to step away if they’ve been scrolling a while. Very few teens used the feature when Instagram first introduced it, but since launching separate teen accounts in 2024, Meta has made it the default setting for teenage users.
Mosseri appeared frustrated that Slothouber was focusing on a single Instagram safety feature when the Meta executive said, “There are many features we launch over many aspects of safety and well-being” that the company tries to improve over time.
The trial began last week in federal court in Oakland, California, and is expected to last about six weeks. The four states were among 29 that sued the tech giant in 2023 over child safety and privacy — the other 25 will go to trial later. The company also faces lawsuits in state courts, including one underway in Tennessee.
Mosseri, who has led Instagram since 2018, testified for about an hour and is due back on the stand Wednesday. He also testified earlier this year in the Los Angeles state court trial that pitted Meta and YouTube against a 20-year-old plaintiff identified only by the initials “KGM,” who said she became addicted to social media as a child. Meta and Google were found liable for harms caused by their platforms, and KGM was awarded a total of $6 million.
In earlier testimony at the Oakland trial, Francesco Fogu, Instagram's director of product design, had contentious exchanges with the plaintiffs' lawyer over internal chats and documents shown to the jury. In one instance, jurors were shown a passage from a document saying, “As a company, we make different choices when it comes to regulatory response. Sometimes we don’t comply and accept a fine. Sometimes we comply in the most minimal or literal way possible.”
Fogu said several times he did not remember whether he wrote those words. As Slothouber kept pressing, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stepped in to say, “We get the point."
Jurors also heard from former Meta employee George Volichenko, who worked in marketing analytics and as a data scientist from 2016 to 2018 and from 2022 to 2023. During his second stint at the company, when he worked on Instagram's mental well-being team, Volichenko said he was told the team exists primarily to protect the company in upcoming lawsuits.
In his experience, Volichenko said, “Everything I saw was kind of supporting that” — from having limited agency to feedback and guidance from leadership.
Discussing Instagram's “take a break” feature, Volichenko said his team had argued it should be automatically turned on for younger teens who use Instagram. That's because people are far more likely to use a feature if it is “opt-out” — that is, they need to manually turn it off if they don't want to use it — rather than “opt-in,” which means they have to manually turn it on.
They did not get the approval.
“The tradeoff to core metrics was not desirable,” Volichenko said, referring to Meta's metrics for how long and how often people use its products.
He soon left Meta a second time.
“I didn’t feel like the company at large was aligned with my values,” he said.
Olivia Konar holds a banner with names of young people who advocates say died as a result of social media outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Oakland, Calif. Her sister Coco Konar died in 2022 when she was 17. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
FILE - Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, arrives in court to testify in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children, in Los Angeles, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
Stars are paying tribute to Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, at 80.
Parton was among the most beloved personalities in music and beyond — the rare celebrity whose appeal transcended generations, geography and politics.
Here is a roundup of notable reactions to Parton’s death and legacy:
“The Heavenly Father has made the decision to bring another of his children to him. Dolly a true child of God is in the best hands now.” — via statement
“Her songwriting, her singing and her philanthropy were unrivaled in the world of country music and it is hard to imagine living in a world without Dolly. She was a very clever business woman who understood the value of her music and, most importantly, the effect that she had on the people of the world. There was no greater honour for me than to have her sing my song ‘Let It Be’ and, even though I only made a small contribution to it, I am so honoured that she did it." — via Instagram.
"I never knew anyone like her. She was simultaneously a naughty, playful southern gal from the hollows of Tennessee and a deep, soulful thinker who could see through people right down to their true selves. She was many things … lyricist, songstress, player of many instruments, writer, prankster, visionary, loyal friend, who’d never go to bed before she and her friends had laughed so hard they’d have to cross their legs." — via Instagram.
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of my friend, Dolly Parton. One of the most extraordinary musical experiences of my life was recording with her. The world is a poorer place without her.” — via statement
“Our beloved Dolly Parton has died. I am devastated, and I’m sure the nation will mourn her as I do, and for many years to come. She had a voice of pure gold and a heart to match. What a terrible, terrible loss.” — via Instagram
“Dolly Parton had a way of making everyone feel special, and seen, and welcomed, and as if you were old friends. I will miss her heart and her voice as I am sure millions will. What an incredible gift and talent she was and still is with an amazing catalogue of art she has left behind for all of us.” — via X
“Words fail me today, words to describe the spirit that was Dolly. I was blessed with knowing her, just a little. We all were. I will strive the rest of my days to be as joyful and loving as she was. Her talent and gifts she gave us will live on for generations. We are a better world because she walked among us. May she live in the stars of the night and in the light of our days.” — via X
“Like the rest of the world, I’m immediately heartbroken. I met Dolly on several occasions and she always made me feel like one of her own. She even agreed to sing with me on one of my records. My ultimate inspiration. The world has lost one of the best but I know we will never forget her because she is impossible to forget. I love you Dolly and I will ALWAYS love you." — via X
"We are all crushed here at our house. One of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard was when Dolly and I sang that last note of ‘I Will Always Love You’ the year we performed it on the CMA Awards.” — via a statement
“One of the greatest songwriters of all time beautiful radiant butterfly human. I played with her at Newport once and I felt like my chest was on fire. I was so wildly awe struck. thank you thank you a million times, dolly.” — via Instagram
“This is a really hard one today. Dolly Parton in show business is like the only person to aspire to be. She is the most kind, the most loving, the most talented, the most generous, the most inclusive, the most resilient, the most gritty. She was undeniably a force of nature.” — via Instagram
“The world feels a lot less sparkly all of a sudden.” — via X
“I can say with absolute certainty that we are all feeling the same heart brokenness today. I only got to spend any real time with Dolly when Gwen and I got to work with her on ‘The Voice.’ I want everyone to know that she was the EXACT person that you think she is. It was like being with the funnest, most loving, most caring and closest member of your family. Truly a loss for the entire world. We love you Dolly.” — via X
“The news of Dolly Parton’s passing is devastating. I had the extraordinary experience of working with her on ‘The Orville,’ and it was a joy to discover that she really was exactly the person we all hoped she was. Her kindness, generosity, and authenticity were evident from moment one, and the benign yet assured command she maintained over her empire was obvious from the genuine love and trust you could see from everyone who worked for her. The world is a dimmer place today without her.” — via X
“Well, I just got the news that my buddy Dolly passed onto the higher and greater side. Dolly, thank you for all the wonderful things you did for us here on earth. Your love, your music and you gave so much with your huge huge heart. There will never ever be another you.” — via X
“Dolly taught us that you can be anything and do anything and to do it with kindness. What a light. We are all grateful that we lived in a time of Dolly Parton. We will always love her.” — via X
“One of twelve children raised in a cabin, Dolly Parton left home carrying nothing but songs to become the most beloved figure in American music. She wrote ‘I Will Always Love You’ as a goodbye to Porter Wagoner. Today it belongs to all of us.” — via X
This story has been updated to remove a quote from a fan account, incorrectly attributed to the singer Miley Cyrus.
FILE - Dolly Parton, center, stands on stage with Lily Tomlin, left, and Jane Fonda at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, Sept. 17, 2017. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
FILE - Dolly Parton poses for a photo at her office in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 11, 2005. (AP Photo/John Russell, File)
