• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won

3

A new trade war may be brewing. This time, Europe is taking a page from Trump's playbook — 'We no longer live in a world of pink ponies and rainbows'

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won

3

A new trade war may be brewing. This time, Europe is taking a page from Trump's playbook — 'We no longer live in a world of pink ponies and rainbows'
Big TechCEO salaries and executive compensation

Instagram boss reveals he’s paid $900K per year plus stock worth ‘tens of millions of dollars’ as he denies ‘addiction’ claims

By
Jacqueline Munis
Jacqueline Munis
News Fellow
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jacqueline Munis
Jacqueline Munis
News Fellow
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 12, 2026, 3:09 PM ET
Mosseri walks away from courthouse
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri leaves Los Angeles County Superior Court, Feb. 9, 2026. Apu Gomes—AFP/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri’s compensation came under fire during the landmark social media addiction trial against its parent company, Meta, and YouTube in Los Angeles on Wednesday. 

Recommended Video

Mosseri, who has led Instagram since 2016, revealed under questioning that he is paid roughly $900,000 a year and receives annual performance-based bonuses that can be up to half his salary, according to multiple outlets covering the trial. Mosseri also earns stock-based pay, which he said varies yearly but has been in the “tens of millions of dollars.” Some years, it’s been over $20 million, he said.

The 20-year-old plaintiff, identified by the initials “KGM” or “Kaley,” alleges that she developed mental health issues owing to a social media addiction. Mosseri’s compensation came up when her lawyer, Mark Lanier, inquired about a connection between his pay and the choices he made about the company’s growth—and whether fueling social-media addiction was incentivized. Lanier also brought up Mosseri’s previous reference to Instagram’s addictive qualities in a podcast, although it was not apparent which podcast he was referring to. Mosseri explained that he was likely using the term “too casually,” as people sometimes do.  

Mosseri strongly denied the claim that Instagram is addictive and targets teenagers to maximize profits, saying that the company makes the least money from teens compared with other demographics because they don’t have disposable income. 

Mosseri said there is an important difference between “clinical addiction” and “problematic” use, though he also repeatedly said that he is not a medical professional. 

“I believe protecting minors in the long run is good for profit and business,” Mosseri said when questioned by Meta’s lawyers. But that wasn’t all Mosseri had to contend with.

Internal documents exposed

Lanier displayed to the court internal documents written by Meta executives suggesting that they knew that filters were harmful for young women, but removing such filters would make the company less competitive, CNN reported. 

“We are talking about encouraging young girls into body dysmorphia,” an email from a Meta executive read. In another email, an executive said that banning filters would “limit our ability to be competitive in Asian markets (including India).”

Instagram initially decided to ban all filters that distort faces, Mosseri said, but it later altered the decision.

Lanier asked Mosseri if banning filters that change users’ appearance could have affected the company’s bottom line. “I was never worried about this affecting our stock price,” Mosseri responded, defending against the idea that his compensation was linked to product-design choices that would be harmful to users.

Meta’s proxy statements filed with the SEC include detailed pay tables only for named executive officers, such as Mark Zuckerberg and a small number of top corporate executives; Mosseri is typically not listed among these named officers, so his exact annual compensation is not broken out in the proxy the way the CEO’s is, making his testimony the closest look yet at his compensation.

Meta did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment on the trial and Mosseri’s compensation.

Mosseri’s testimony offers a preview of what is to come next week, when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify. 

Subscribe to Fortune Gulf Brief. Every Tuesday, this new newsletter delivers clear-eyed, authoritative intelligence on the deals, decisions, policies, and power shifts shaping one of the world’s most consequential regions, written for the people who need to act on it. Sign up here.
About the Author
By Jacqueline MunisNews Fellow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Big Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Big Tech

Barun Kar and Rajiv Khemani
Startups & VentureChips
Exclusive: Upscale AI wants to be the next Cisco—and it just raised another $190 million
By Lily Mae LazarusJune 22, 2026
4 hours ago
Shin Hyun Song, governor of the Bank of Korea.
EconomyInflation
South Korean chipmakers are being paid such massive bonuses it’s becoming an inflation problem for the central bank
By Eleanor PringleJune 22, 2026
5 hours ago
Photo of Jensen Huang
SuccessCareers
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says electricians and plumbers will be needed by the hundreds of thousands in the new working world
By Preston ForeJune 20, 2026
2 days ago
Executive pay climbed again in 2025—and the CEO-to-worker gap kept widening
C-SuiteElon Musk
Executive pay climbed again in 2025—and the CEO-to-worker gap kept widening
By Catherina GioinoJune 20, 2026
2 days ago
Why odds of SpaceX merger with Tesla keep climbing every time the stock shoots up
Big TechSpaceX
Why odds of SpaceX merger with Tesla keep climbing every time the stock shoots up
By Shawn TullyJune 20, 2026
2 days ago
Sam Altman looks down and to the side, frowning.
AIOpenAI
Sam Altman was ‘0%’ excited to be a CEO of a public company—but OpenAI is taking steps to compete in the AI IPO blitz anyway
By Sasha RogelbergJune 19, 2026
3 days ago

Most Popular

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeJune 21, 2026
1 day ago
Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won
Success
Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won
By Emma BurleighJune 21, 2026
1 day ago
A new trade war may be brewing. This time, Europe is taking a page from Trump's playbook — 'We no longer live in a world of pink ponies and rainbows'
Economy
A new trade war may be brewing. This time, Europe is taking a page from Trump's playbook — 'We no longer live in a world of pink ponies and rainbows'
By Jason MaJune 20, 2026
2 days ago
NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
Success
NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
By Preston ForeJune 21, 2026
1 day ago
'I literally was crying last night because I’m nervous about what I’m going to find out': a record 51% of Americans aren't 'cost secure' on health
Health
'I literally was crying last night because I’m nervous about what I’m going to find out': a record 51% of Americans aren't 'cost secure' on health
By Ali Swenson, Amelia Thomson-Deveaux and The Associated PressJune 20, 2026
2 days ago
Tenzin Seldon: The GLP-1 boom is the biggest climate story no one is pricing in
Commentary
Tenzin Seldon: The GLP-1 boom is the biggest climate story no one is pricing in
By Tenzin SeldonJune 21, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.