British News Agency

The landmark lawsuit against Meta and YouTube began in late January. The case centers on allegations by a plaintiff identified as “KGM,” who claims that using social media at a young age made them addicted and harmed their mental health.

KGM, now 20 years old, alleges that Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube were designed to be addictive through recommendation algorithms and infinite scrolling features.

In court on Wednesday, Zuckerberg was questioned by KGM’s attorney, Mark Lanier, about Meta’s policy regarding access to Instagram by children under 13. According to Lanier, KGM began using Instagram at the age of nine.

Zuckerberg stated that users under 13 are not allowed on the platform but added that enforcing this rule is difficult “because a significant number of people lie about their age to use our services.”

Lanier also asked Zuckerberg whether one of the company’s goals was to increase the amount of time users spend on Instagram. Zuckerberg said Meta uses time spent on the app as a metric to measure its performance against competitors like TikTok.

“That’s different from simply trying to increase time. We’re just trying to see where we stand in the industry,” he said.

This marks the first time Zuckerberg has defended his company before a jury, despite previously testifying before Congress regarding the safety of young users on Meta’s platforms.

The outcome of the case could shape how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media giants are resolved. TikTok and Snapchat were initially part of the lawsuit but settled before the trial began.

Some experts compare the social media lawsuit to the tobacco industry cases of the 1990s, which aimed to hold companies accountable for their products and marketing practices.