Mark Zuckerberg of Meta is being questioned at a juvenile addiction trial
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta Platforms and founder of Facebook, is set to be questioned in a US court for the first time about the impact of Instagram on the mental health of young users, as a landmark youth social media addiction trial moves forward in Los Angeles.
Zuckerberg has previously testified before Congress on youth safety and social media harms, but this jury trial carries higher legal and financial stakes. If Meta loses, it could face damages and a weakening of long-standing legal protections relied upon by major technology platforms against user-harm claims.
The case is part of a broader global backlash over the effects of social media on children and teenagers. Several countries have introduced or proposed age-based restrictions. Australia and Spain have moved to bar social media access for users under 16, while in the United States, Florida has passed a law prohibiting platforms from allowing children under 14 to create accounts. Industry trade groups are challenging that law in court.
The lawsuit centers on a California woman who says she began using Instagram and YouTube, owned by Google, as a child and became addicted. She alleges the companies knowingly designed features to hook young users despite being aware of potential mental health risks, contributing to her depression and suicidal thoughts. She is seeking to hold the platforms liable.
Meta and Google deny the allegations and say they have introduced multiple safety features and parental controls to protect younger users. Meta has also cited findings from the National Academies of Sciences indicating that existing research does not conclusively show that social media directly changes children’s mental health outcomes.
The trial is viewed as a bellwether for a wider wave of litigation in the US. Thousands of lawsuits have been filed by families, school districts, and state authorities against major platforms including Snap and TikTok, alleging their products contribute to a youth mental health crisis.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, testified earlier that he was not aware of a recent internal Meta study suggesting no clear link between parental supervision and teens’ attentiveness in managing their own social media use. Trial testimony has also referenced internal documents indicating that teens facing difficult life circumstances reported more habitual or unintended Instagram use.
Meta’s legal team has argued that the plaintiff’s mental health challenges stem primarily from a troubled childhood and said social media served as a creative outlet rather than the root cause of her condition.
