Judge Caroline Kuhl warned in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday that anyone caught recording with the AI glasses will be held in contempt of court, according to Forbes, which notes that recording is prohibited in California Superior courtrooms.
According to CNBC, the judge said, “If you did this, you have to remove it, otherwise you will be held guilty of contempt of court.” “This is very serious.”
At least two of the people who accompanied Zuckerberg to court on Wednesday morning were seen wearing Meta Ray-Ban glasses. It is unclear whether the judge was addressing those people directly or addressing others who were in attendance, and trying to covertly record the activity. The Meta Ray-Ban glasses have been controversial since their release due to their ability to allow people to record others, although they have a light that should illuminate when actively recording.
Zuckerberg was in court on Wednesday to face questions about a case brought by a 20-year-old woman who says she became addicted to Instagram in elementary school. The woman, identified only as “Callie”, has brought the case, the first of more than 1,500 that could go to trial with similar claims. All eyes are on Kelly’s lawsuit as a defeat could be an indication of how social media companies might fare under similar legal challenges in the future.
According to CNN, Kelly was not in court today, but is expected to testify at some point. Today, it was Zuckerberg in the hot seat, pressed on whether Meta was intentionally trying to hook kids into its products. According to CNN, the plaintiffs’ lawyers presented internal slides from 2015 that showed more than 4 million Instagram users in the US were under the age of 13. Instagram started asking users’ age in 2019.
Zuckerberg reportedly responded that before 2019, he did not ask age, due to privacy concerns. But the Meta CEO said he believes they have ultimately arrived at the right policy.
According to the Associated Press, Zuckerberg did not directly answer the question of whether Instagram is addictive, instead choosing to say things like “I’m not sure what to say about it” and “I don’t think it applies here” when pressed about whether “people use something more when it becomes addictive.”
The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, testified last week that he does not think 16-hour use of Instagram is considered an addiction, instead describing it as “problematic use,” according to the BBC.
Kelly also sued YouTube, Snap, and TikTok, although Snap and TikTok settled before the lawsuit. The Associated Press reports that Zuckerberg was asked about internal documents about how he was taught to talk about these issues in the media and said he was advised not to sound robotic. Zak explained, “I think I’m really known for being bad at this.”
Meta sent Gizmodo a statement about the hundreds of cases the company is currently dealing with in children and those with Instagram addiction:
We strongly disagree with these allegations and we are confident that the evidence will show our long-term commitment to supporting young people.
For more than a decade, we’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted extensive research to understand the issues that matter most. We use these insights to make meaningful changes – like introducing teen accounts with built-in security and giving parents the tools to manage their teens’ experiences. We are proud of the progress we have made and are always working to improve.
Addressing the matter exclusively on Wednesday, Meta suggested the company would present evidence that Kelly’s mental health challenges existed before she signed up to Instagram.
“The question for the jury in Los Angeles is whether Instagram was a significant factor in plaintiff’s mental health struggles. The evidence will show that she faced a number of significant, difficult challenges before using social media.”
According to CNN, Kelly reportedly joined Instagram at the age of 9.
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