Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before a jury on Wednesday in a landmark trial examining accusations that social media is addictive and harmful to children’s mental health.
He took the stand in a Los Angeles courtroom in defense of Meta, a conglomerate that includes Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. Google, the parent company of YouTube, is also a defendant in the lawsuit, brought by a 20-year-old woman in California who said she became addicted to social media as a child and suffered negative mental health consequences because of it.
When asked on Wednesday about Instagram’s age restrictions, Zuckerberg testified that the platform’s policy requires users to be at least 13 years old, but admitted that some people lie to get around it, CNBC reported. He said the company outlines its age restrictions during the sign-up process.
“You expect a 9-year-old to read all of the fine print,” the plaintiff’s lawyer responded. “That’s your basis for swearing under oath that children under 13 are not allowed?”
The plaintiff, referred to by the initials KGM, has accused social media companies of deliberately getting young people, particularly children, hooked on their apps despite knowing they can be addictive and harmful to their mental health. Meta and Google have denied the accusations.
TikTok and Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, were also initially named in the lawsuit, but settled last month. The details of those settlements have not been disclosed.
In her lawsuit, KGM alleged her use of social media as a child led to addiction, depression and suicidal ideation. Meta has argued that it should not be held liable for the third-party content on its platforms.
Later in the trial, Zuckerberg was questioned about the company’s past goals on increasing teens’ ”time spent” on the app.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, referring to an internal email thread, said the exchange “would seem to indicate that the company was concerned with both ramping up under-13 teens and time-spent, right?”
“Those seem to be topics that are discussed here,” Zuckberg testified, “and I think it’s consistent with the conversations we’ve been having here today.” He added that the goals in question were from almost a decade ago and could have been aspirational rather than official.
The trial could have far-reaching consequences that could impact the outcome of thousands of similar lawsuits alleging social media addiction and harm.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.