Lori Schott didn’t care how long she had to travel from her small town in eastern Colorado to the Los Angeles courtroom where Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify on Wednesday. She said, “I didn’t care if it had to hire a pack mule to get me here, I was going to stay here.” The Verge Outside the court on Tuesday.
Schott’s daughter Annalee, who died by suicide in 2020 at the age of 18, struggled with body image issues, which her mother says were exacerbated by social media. After her death, Schott found journal entries where Annalee criticized her appearance and compared herself to the profiles of other girls. “I was so worried about what my kid was putting online that I didn’t even know what he was finding,” Schott said.
The way Meta and Google-owned YouTube have designed their products — allegedly luring users into a nonstop loop of tapping and scrolling — is at the center of this month’s bellwether social media trial, setting the stage for thousands of similar lawsuits. The companies have generally denied the claims. Schott and several other self-described survivor parents have made it their mission to be present in the courtroom during the several-week trial in Downtown LA.
“I was so concerned about what my child was posting online, I didn’t realize what he was getting across.”
Last week, Parents heard from Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, who used his time to draw a distinction between clinical addiction to social media and what he called “problematic use.” On the stand, Mosseri testified that using Instagram “too much” is a relative thing that can vary from person-to-person, and that he would not use the word addiction for using social media up to 16 hours a day. Mosseri explained why Meta had revised a prior ban on image filters that altered the appearance of users, after previously discussing their potential negative mental health effects. While the plaintiffs have argued that Meta is motivated by profits and engagement at the expense of users’ safety, Mosseri said the two are linked. “Normally, we should be focused on protecting minors, but I believe protecting minors in the long run is good for business and profits,” he said. cnbc.
Many parents camped out overnight in the rain to ensure they got a spot behind Mosseri when he took the stand. One of them was Julianna Arnold, whose daughter Coco died at the age of 17 from fentanyl poisoning after she reportedly met a dealer on Instagram who she believed sold her Percocet. Parents wore rain ponchos, played cards, drank coffee and told stories all night long. “Everyone was like, you’re crazy,” she said. “But it didn’t seem like we were crazy, because we were determined to get the surviving parent into the courtroom.”
For Schott, who stayed overnight to watch Mosseri’s testimony, the reality of being in the room quickly became overwhelming. “I really hoped in my heart that it wasn’t as bad as it was,” said Schott, who left testimony after hearing the Instagram CEO discuss documents about engagement, profits and internal research about the girls’ mental health. “It’s too bad.”
“I want her to see my face, because my face is Anna’s face.”
On Wednesday, Zuckerberg will likely expand on Mosseri’s testimony and explain the company’s choices. While Mosseri is in charge of the product at the center of the trial, Zuckerberg’s role as founder and CEO means plaintiffs’ lawyers will likely ask him about the choices they allege have harmed young users. Zuckerberg will likely be asked about how and why his company made various design decisions, and research on user security. But for many people, at least as important as what Zuckerberg will say is that they will get to see their faces. “I’d love to look her in the eyes,” says Schott. “I’d love for her to look at my face, because my face is Anna’s face.”
Zuckerberg’s testimony will likely be referenced in future trials and legislative hearings. The thousands of social media cases behind it have similarly argued that products like Instagram caused various personal injuries, and that companies should be asked to pay damages and change their products to make them safer.
Arnold isn’t sure whether he’ll get one of the limited, lottery-determined seats inside the courthouse. Either way, “I want to see a line of surviving parents next in line. He has to testify to our faces, to the parents of the children who died because of his lack of care and lack of accountability – that’s why it’s really important that we’re here.”
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