Zuckerberg Testifies in Trial Over Social Media and Youth Mental Health

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg testified Wednesday in a Los Angeles jury trial over whether Instagram and other social media platforms were deliberately designed to addict and harm young users, in his first appearance before a jury on child safety, CBS News and NBC News reported. The plaintiff is a 20-year-old woman identified in court by her initials. She says that using social media from a young age caused her to become addicted and worsened her depression and suicidal thoughts, according to the Associated Press and Al Jazeera. Meta and Google’s YouTube are the remaining defendants; TikTok and Snap settled before the trial, CBS and NBC said.

The plaintiff’s lawyer, Mark Lanier, spent much of the day on Instagram’s rules for children under 13. Zuckerberg said users under 13 are not allowed, but that enforcing the rule is difficult because a meaningful number of people lie about their age, according to CBS and NBC. Lanier noted that age-verification tools did not exist when the plaintiff joined at age 9; Zuckerberg replied that he wished Meta had gotten there sooner, NBC reported, but said, “you’re implying we weren’t trying to work on it, and that’s not true.”

On engagement, CBS reported that Zuckerberg said Meta uses time spent on the app as a way to measure itself against rivals such as TikTok, which he called “different than us trying to just increase time.” NBC quoted him: “I’m not trying to maximize the amount of time people spend every month.” He also accused Lanier of mischaracterizing his remarks, NBC and NPR reported. On Instagram’s beauty filters, CBS and NPR said Zuckerberg defended letting people use the filters if they wanted while Meta decided not to recommend them.

Meta says it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people,” a spokesperson said, as quoted by the AP and Al Jazeera. Meta’s lawyer, Paul Schmidt, said in his opening statement that the company does not dispute that the plaintiff had mental health struggles but argues Instagram was not a substantial factor, pointing to a turbulent home life, the AP reported.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri testified last week and said he does not believe people can be clinically addicted to social media, according to CBS and the AP. Meta also faces a separate trial in New Mexico, the AP and NBC reported.

The stakes extend beyond one plaintiff. CBS and the AP described the case as a bellwether whose outcome could shape how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies play out; Al Jazeera and NBC put the number of related plaintiffs or lawsuits at roughly 1,600, including families, school districts and states. Platforms have largely been shielded by Section 230, a provision of the Communications Act of 1934 that protects internet companies from liability for content posted by users, Al Jazeera and NBC noted. CBS and Al Jazeera said some experts compare the litigation to the tobacco lawsuits of past decades.