Zuckerberg testifies in front of jury during social media addiction trial

Mark Zuckerberg appeared before a jury today to defend Meta against claims that its social media platforms are dangerously designed to attract children to its sites.

As NBC reports, the CEO told the court that Meta has taken actions to reduce the prevalence of underage users on Instagram, and has adjusted internal goals to increase user time on the site. Zuckerberg also accused the plaintiffs’ attorney, Matthew Bergman of the Social Media Victims Law Center, of misrepresenting his past comments. The exchange occurred when Bergman questioned Zuckerberg about Meta’s age verification policies, Zuckerberg’s personal media coaching, and his compensation as head of Meta.

“If you do something that’s not good for people, maybe they’ll waste more time [on Instagram] Short term, but if they’re not happy with it, they won’t use it over time,” Zuckerberg said. “I’m not trying to maximize the time people spend every month.”

It is the first time the tech leader has testified in front of a jury about the alleged dangers of social media platforms, and it comes after Zuckerberg faces congressional questioning in 2024.

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The watershed case, brought by a 20-year-old user in Los Angeles against Google, the parent company of Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, is the first of a consolidated group of lawsuits filed by more than 1,600 plaintiffs, accusing the companies of knowingly creating dangerous products. TikTok and Snapchat recently settled a lawsuit in LA, but several other related lawsuits are moving forward.

The results of the trial could impact whether tech giants and their leaders can be held liable for harming the mental health of their users. Internet companies are mostly protected from litigation over their users’ content thanks to a provision of a 92-year-old communications law.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri began executive testimony last week. Mosseri refuted claims that patterns of social media use among teens are a “clinical addiction” – a charged topic among mental health professionals and tech leaders. Instead, Mosseri acknowledged patterns of “problematic use” among users and denied that Instagram ignored security concerns in favor of profit. “It’s relative. Yes, for an individual, using Instagram more than you feel comfortable with is such a thing,” he said. “We make less money from teens than any other demographic on the platform.”

Tech watchdogs hope the trial will spur congressional action, including streamlining the controversial Kids Online Protection Act. “What we’re seeing in that courtroom today is exactly what we’ve long known to be true – Mark Zuckerberg built a machine that exploited children for profit, and he knew it,” said Sacha Haworth, executive director of The Tech Oversight Project. “Congress needs to act now to hold Big Tech accountable and stop CEOs like Zuckerberg from exploiting and hurting young people.”

In a public statement released before the trial, company officials argued: “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.”