Meta CEO Testifies in Major Social Media Addiction Trial — What It Means for Big Tech
Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, is scheduled to testify before a jury in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The testimony is part of a legal battle accusing the company of knowingly providing a social media product that can be addictive and damaging to young users.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears in a Los Angeles courtroom to defend Meta in a landmark trial over claims social media harms children and teens, with potential global implications.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
The significant case involving Meta and YouTube began in late January. It focuses on allegations from a plaintiff identified as “KGM,” who argues that early exposure to social media led to addiction and negatively affected her mental health.
Now aged 20, KGM claims platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are intentionally engineered to encourage dependency through recommendation algorithms and endless scrolling features.
The verdict could influence thousands of similar lawsuits targeting social media corporations. TikTok and Snapchat were initially included but reached settlements before trial proceedings began.
Meta told CBS News it firmly rejects the claims and says it remains focused on protecting younger users. The company also stated that KGM experienced mental health challenges before joining social platforms.
Meanwhile, a representative from Google, YouTube’s parent company, denied the accusations, describing them as untrue.
Some specialists have compared the case to tobacco industry lawsuits from the 1990s, which aimed to hold companies responsible for product risks and marketing tactics.
Melodi Dinçer, a law professor and tech justice lawyer at UCLA, told Jo Ling Kent that the trial could reveal gaps between public corporate messaging and internal practices.
This is the first time Zuckerberg has defended Meta before a jury. He has previously testified before Congress on youth safety concerns involving Meta platforms. Dinçer suggested he may face tougher questioning than he typically receives from lawmakers.
Zuckerberg’s court appearance follows testimony from Adam Mosseri, who spoke last week. Mosseri said he does not believe social media causes clinical addiction, instead describing what he calls “problematic use,” where users spend more time on Instagram than they would like.
Prosecutors questioned Mosseri about whether Instagram prioritizes profits and user growth over safety. He responded that the platform earns less revenue from teenage users than from any other age group and noted teens are less likely to engage with advertisements.
