Zuckerberg Testifies in LA Social‑Media Addiction Trial, Says Meta Was Slow on Age Checks

Overview

• On the stand, Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged Meta moved too slowly to detect under‑13 users on Instagram and said he wished protections had come sooner.
• Zuckerberg rejected claims that Meta set out to addict youth or mandated time‑spent growth, even as jurors saw 2014–2015 emails and a 2015 memo discussing double‑digit increases in user time.
• Evidence shown in court included a 2018 Instagram presentation about reaching users in preteen years and a Nick Clegg email questioning whether age limits were truly enforced.
• Plaintiff Kaley G. M., now 20, alleges Instagram and YouTube harmed her mental health through design choices such as infinite scroll, autoplay, recommendation systems, notifications and social‑validation metrics.
• TikTok and Snap settled before trial, while Meta and Google deny liability, cite safety features and research from the National Academies, and face a jury that will hear testimony through late March in a case expected to influence thousands of similar suits.