Instagram chief says few teens used ‘Take a Break’ before it became default in 2024

# What happened Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, testified at a federal trial in Oakland where 29 U.S. states are suing Meta. The states accuse Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram to addict children and of improperly collecting data on users under 13. Mosseri addressed the usage and rollout of a safety tool called Take a Break and questioned how Instagram handled internal teen-safety research after a 2021 leak.

# Mosseri's testimony on Take a Break Mosseri acknowledged that only a low-single-digit share of teenagers turned on Take a Break before Instagram made it the default setting in September 2024. He pointed to early tests, cited in a December 2021 blog post that launched the feature, indicating more than 90% of teens who did enable it kept it on. Despite those retention figures, Mosseri said, "Most teens didn't want it," and said Instagram chose to move forward with defaulting the setting anyway.

# What the states allege Twenty-nine states brought the lawsuit. Four states—California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey—specifically accuse Meta of designing the platforms to hook young users and increasing risks for anxiety, depression and suicide. All 29 states also allege violations related to collecting and using personal data of children under 13. The states have indicated they could seek nearly $200 billion in civil penalties.

# Internal handling of safety research Mosseri rejected suggestions that he encouraged teams to hide information. He said it was important that any child-safety material released publicly be high-quality and backed by experts. After the 2021 Facebook Files leak, Instagram centralized people working on sensitive research about teenagers into a single team and reduced company-wide access to that information.

A separate witness, Instagram design director Francesco Fogu, testified about a 2023 leadership presentation. Fogu acknowledged the removal of a slide that reportedly showed teenage users saw 1.5 times more bullying, suicide, hate, nudity and violent content than adults. Under cross-examination he said the figure appeared on a different slide. Fogu also testified that Instagram knew fewer people would use Take a Break if it was not set to default.

# Legal process and stakes

# Why this matters The testimony targets whether design and rollout choices amounted to intentionally addictive features or poor protection for young users. The specifics under debate include how widely safety tools worked in practice, how the company presented internal safety findings to leadership, and what changes Meta made after data about risks became public.