Zuckerberg denies that Instagram targets children at LA trial

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was pressed for answers in a Los Angeles courtroom as a youth social media addiction case probed how far Meta went in shaping young users’ behaviour on Wednesday.

He repeated that Facebook and Instagram do not permit children under 13 years of age, though the plaintiff’s lawyer put internal documents in front of him that pointed the other way.

Mark Lanier, representing a California woman who began using Instagram and YouTube as a child, challenged Zuckerberg’s 2024 assurances to Congress that users under the age of 13-years old were blocked.

The lawyer read from Meta’s own files while the courtroom watched the exchange.

The woman alleges Instagram and YouTube contributed to her depression and suicidal thoughts, and that both companies pushed products to children despite knowing the risks.

Meta and Google deny the claims.

"If we want to win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens," one 2018 internal Instagram presentation said.

"And yet you say that we would never do that," Lanier told him.

Zuckerberg said the lawyer was "mischaracterising what I am saying." He added that Meta had explored ideas for versions of its apps for under 13-years but never released them, describing those discussions as attempts to find safer design options rather than recruit children.

• How do social media rules for under-16s vary around the world?

Emails show internal friction

The case is part of a growing wave of lawsuits accusing major platforms of harming young people, with Snap and TikTok already settling before the trial began.

In newly surfaced correspondence, Nick Clegg, then Meta’s vice president of global affairs, warned Zuckerberg that "we have age limits which are unenforced" and pointed to inconsistent rules across Instagram and Facebook.

He wrote that such gaps made it "difficult to claim we are doing all we can."

Zuckerberg replied that verifying a user’s age is difficult for any software platform and said responsibility should shift toward mobile device makers.

Focus on engagement goals

Zuckerberg also faced pressure over comments he previously made to Congress claiming he did not direct Instagram teams to maximise time spent on the app.

Lanier introduced older emails from 2014 and 2015 in which Zuckerberg called for raising engagement by double-digit percentages.

He acknowledged Meta had once used time-spent targets but insisted the company later changed its approach.

"If you are trying to say my testimony was not accurate, I strongly disagree with that," he said.

It was Zuckerberg’s first time testifying in court on Instagram’s impact on youth mental health. Meta’s lawyers were scheduled to question him later in the day.

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Test case for U.S. litigation

The lawsuit sits at the front of a much larger legal push involving thousands of cases filed by families, school districts and states.

They argue the platforms fuelled a youth mental-health crisis and say "big tech" companies should be held accountable.

A verdict against Meta and Google could erode some of the legal protections the companies have relied on for years.

Investigative reporting has previously shown Meta was aware of concerns internally.

Reuters reports that company researchers found that some teens said Instagram made them feel worse about their bodies, and that these teens saw more "eating disorder adjacent content" than others.

Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, told the court last week he was unaware of a recent internal study shown at trial that found no link between parental supervision and teens’ attentiveness to their own social-media use.

Teenagers facing difficult circumstances were more likely to use Instagram habitually or unintentionally, the document said.

Meta’s lawyer argued that the plaintiff’s difficulties stemmed from a troubled childhood and said Instagram was often an outlet for creativity.

• EU 'will enforce' planned French social media ban, if it complies with EU law
• Spain and Greece advance teen social media restrictions
• Czech PM backs social media ban for under-15-year-olds

Australia now bars anyone under 16 from accessing social-media platforms. Other governments are weighing similar steps.

Florida has banned platforms from allowing users under 14-years, though industry groups are challenging the measure in court.

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Mark Zuckerberg Instagram facebook Google YouTube Social media United States Child protection Social media regulation