Instagram monitored users’ app usage time, with the executives highlighting annual “milestones.” From 2023 to 2026, daily usage increased from 40 minutes to 46 minutes. This was disclosed during Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony in a Los Angeles County Superior Court case.
Time-spent metrics are central to the lawsuit, marking Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s first jury appearance.
In the ongoing case K.G.M. v. Platforms et al., a jury will decide whether social media companies are responsible for youth mental health issues linked to their platforms or addictive designs. While Snap and TikTok settled before trial, Meta and YouTube chose not to, leading to executive testimonies from both companies.
The 19-year-old plaintiff, referred to as K.G.M. or “Kaley,” claims that early social media use harmed her mental health, causing addiction, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
Meta contests the claim that its app caused Kaley’s issues.
“The jury’s task in Los Angeles is to determine if Instagram significantly contributed to the plaintiff’s mental health issues. Evidence will demonstrate she faced other significant challenges before using social media,” stated Meta spokesperson Stephanie Otway in an email regarding the case.
Plaintiff lawyers aim to show that Meta aimed to increase Instagram user time, despite knowing minors were on the platform. In his testimony, Zuckerberg was questioned about stating to Congress in 2024 that children under 13 weren’t allowed on Instagram, despite internal documents revealing 4 million under-13 users on the app in 2015, making up 30% of all 10-12-year-olds in the U.S.
Zuckerberg responded that he truthfully conveyed company policy to Congress and noted Instagram removed detected underage users. He clarified that tracked “milestones” differed from specific “goals” assigned to Instagram’s team.
Other documents cited during testimony suggested Instagram’s growing interest in the tween and teen demographic. Emails from a former product manager stated, “Our overall company goal is total teen time spent,” and “Mark prioritized teens in early 2017.” A December 2018 document identified tweens as the “highest retention age group” in the U.S., indicating the company’s interest in this demographic.
An email from Zuckerberg advisor Nick Clegg, who left last year, described Instagram’s age checks as “unenforceable.”
Despite knowing about underage users, Instagram only addressed this issue in August 2021 by requiring users to provide birthdates, argued the plaintiff lawyers. (Meta countered that it began requesting age information at sign-up in 2019 for new users.)
Although Instagram has recently implemented teen protections and parental controls, its focus on young demographics persists. Recent internal documents mentioned in testimony indicated Meta’s aim for Instagram to be the leading teen platform by monthly active users in the U.S. and globally this year.
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