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Mark Zuckerberg Testifies in Los Angeles Bellwether Trial Over Youth Social Media Addiction

The bellwether case could shape liability across thousands of similar suits.

Families staged art installation of illuminated smartphone statues featuring 50 children whose parents say they died from social media harms, in a park one block from the Los Angeles Superior courthouse.
Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 31, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
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Overview

  • Meta’s CEO took the stand before a Los Angeles jury for the first time on youth‑safety claims, defending the company’s approach as the trial tests design‑based liability.
  • The plaintiff, a 20‑year‑old identified as K.G.M., alleges childhood use of Instagram and YouTube led to compulsive use, depression and suicidal thoughts; TikTok and Snap settled earlier, leaving Meta and Google as defendants.
  • Plaintiffs highlight features such as recommendation algorithms, infinite scroll, autoplay and beauty filters, pointing to internal documents and executive testimony to argue the platforms were engineered to keep minors engaged.
  • Under questioning, Zuckerberg acknowledged Instagram’s 13‑and‑up policy can be bypassed by users who misstate their age, prompting challenges from the plaintiff’s lawyer about the adequacy of age‑gating.
  • Meta and Google dispute causation, citing teen safety settings, parental tools and other life factors, as jurors weigh earlier testimony from Instagram head Adam Mosseri rejecting the label of clinical addiction.