LOS ANGELES, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Meta Platforms chief executive and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will be questioned for the first time in a US court on Wednesday about Instagram’s impact on the mental health of young users, as a landmark trial into social media addiction among young people continues.
Although Zuckerberg has already testified on the matter before Congress, the consequences are greater in the jury trial in Los Angeles, California. Meta may have to pay damages if it loses the case, and the verdict could weaken big tech companies’ long-standing legal defense against allegations of harm to users.
The lawsuit and others like it are part of a global backlash against social media platforms regarding child mental health.
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Australia has banned access to social media platforms for users under 16, and other countries, including Spain, are considering similar restrictions. In the US, Florida has banned companies from allowing access to users under the age of 14. Trade associations in the technology sector are challenging the law in court.
The case involves a California woman who started using Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube as a child. She alleges that companies sought to profit from addicting children to their services, even though they knew that social media could harm their mental health. She claims the apps fueled her depression and suicidal thoughts and seeks to hold companies accountable.
Meta and Google denied the allegations and highlighted their efforts to add features that protect users. Meta frequently cites a conclusion from the National Academies of Sciences that research does not show that social media changes children’s mental health.
The lawsuit serves as a test case for similar claims in a larger group of cases against Meta, Google owner Alphabet, Snap and TikTok. Families, school districts and states have filed thousands of lawsuits across the U.S. accusing companies of fueling a mental health crisis among young people.
Zuckerberg is expected to be asked about Meta’s internal studies and discussions about how Instagram use affects younger users.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, testified last week that he was unaware of a recent Meta study that found no link between parental supervision and teens’ attention to their own social media use.
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Teens with difficult life circumstances reported more frequently using Instagram habitually or unintentionally, according to the document presented at trial.
Meta’s lawyer told jurors at trial that the woman’s health records show her problems stem from a troubled childhood and that social media was a form of creative expression for her.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy)
