Zuckerberg testifies in Los Angeles court as Meta faces teen mental health claims

New Delhi: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified on February 18 in a Los Angeles Superior Court trial that accuses major social media platforms of designing addictive features that harm young users’ mental health.

The case is being watched as the first jury trial of its kind to test whether alleged harm stems from product design choices, not just third-party content. Plaintiffs’ lawyers are seeking to show that engagement-led features and internal decision-making contributed to compulsive use among minors.

Zuckerberg faced questioning that drew on internal documents and past discussions on underage users and safety trade-offs. He told the court Meta does not set out to build addiction and argued that if people are unhappy with a product, they do not keep using it over time.

During testimony, Zuckerberg acknowledged the challenge of enforcing Instagram’s 13-and-up policy and said it is difficult to prevent children from signing up with inaccurate ages. Reporting from the trial said the questioning focused on how quickly Meta identified underage users and what actions followed.

The lawsuit has been filed by a young adult, identified in coverage as KGM, who alleges she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a teenager and later developed depression and suicidal thoughts. The case is one of a set of “bellwether” matters meant to test claims that could shape a larger wave of litigation.

Plaintiffs have argued that features such as infinite scrolling, notifications and recommendation loops are engineered to keep children on the apps longer. Meta and Google-owned YouTube have denied the allegations, with Meta pointing to investments in safety and product changes aimed at teen protection.

TikTok and Snap, which were initially part of the case, settled before the trial proceeded with Meta and YouTube as the remaining defendants, according to multiple reports on the case timeline.