Los Angeles —
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday testified before a jury for the first time about accusations that social media, including Instagram, harm children’s mental health.
What's the paradox on Meta?
Kaley, a 20-year-old woman, alleges Instagram and Google’s YouTube were intentionally designed to be addictive — and that they hooked her from an elementary school age, causing anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia.
The outcome of her lawsuit could affect the hundreds of other cases by families who say their own children have been harmed or even died because of social media. Meta, for its part, denies the accusations and says it’s implemented numerous measures to safeguard young users.
At the core of the testimony were questions about what Meta knew about the potential risks to young people and whether it did enough to mitigate them. Zuckerberg argued he aims to build a product that has long-term appeal, not one that gets people hooked in the short-term and makes them feel bad about themselves.
Source: CNN; https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/19/tech/takeaways-mark-zuckerberg-testifiessocial-media-child-mental-health
