Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms and founder of Facebook, is set to testify in a US court for the first time about Instagram’s impact on the mental health of young users. The jury trial, which is being held in Los Angeles, California, is being watched closely as a potential turning point in legal battles against major social media companies.
While Zuckerberg has previously approached lawmakers in Congress about related issues, the process carries financial and legal implications. If Meta loses, it could face significant damages — and potentially weaken long-standing legal protections protecting tech firms from liability for user harm.
The case at the center of the trial
The lawsuit was filed by a California woman who started using Google-owned Instagram and YouTube as a child. They argue that companies have deliberately designed their platforms to maximize the engagement of young users, despite knowing the potential mental health risks.
According to the complaint, the apps contributed to her depression and suicidal thoughts. It demands that companies be held liable for damages.
Meta and Google have denied the allegations. The companies say they have implemented several security features and safeguards aimed at protecting younger users.
Legal and global resistance
The trial is part of a wider global reckoning with the effects of social media on children and teenagers.
Countries including Australia and Spain have introduced restrictions that ban users under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms. In the United States, Florida passed legislation banning companies from allowing users under 14 to create accounts – although the law is being challenged in court by tech industry trade groups.
The current lawsuit is seen as a test case among thousands of similar lawsuits filed by families, school districts and states across the U.S. against companies including Meta, Google Alphabet, Snap Inc. and TikTok.
Internal study under the microscope
Zuckerberg is expected to face questions about Meta’s internal research into Instagram’s effects on young users. Internal company discussions and studies could play a central role in determining whether Meta was aware of potential damages.
Last week, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri testified that he was unaware of a recent Meta study that found no link between parental supervision and teenagers’ attention to their own social media use. Documents from the trial also indicated that teens facing difficult life circumstances reported more habitual or unintended use of Instagram.
Meta has frequently cited findings from the National Academy of Sciences, which state that research does not conclusively show that social media directly changes children’s mental health.
The defense pushes back
Meta’s legal team argued that the plaintiff’s medical records reflected long-term problems stemming from a troubled childhood. The company’s lawyers told jurors that social media served as a creative outlet rather than the root cause of her mental health problems.