Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify in an unprecedented social media addiction trial.
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- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify in a landmark trial addressing claims that Instagram and other platforms were designed to foster addiction among young users.
- The lawsuit could set a legal precedent for thousands of lawsuits linking social media to youth mental health crises.
- The case highlights growing scrutiny over the responsibility of tech giants for the mental health impact of their platforms on young people.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify Wednesday in an unprecedented social media addiction trial, called by lawyers representing a plaintiff who alleges that Instagram and other platforms were deliberately designed to get young users addicted.
The 41-year-old head of Meta – which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – is the most anticipated witness in the California trial, the first in a series of cases that could set legal precedent for thousands of lawsuits filed by American families against major social media platforms.
The trial will be the first time the multi-billionaire will directly address the security of his world-dominating platforms before a jury.
Zuckerberg's controversial reputation has dominated the proceedings since jury selection, when Meta's lawyers worked to exclude California residents deemed overly hostile toward the Facebook founder.
12 jurors in Los Angeles will hear testimony through the end of March to decide whether Google-owned YouTube and Meta's Instagram bear any responsibility for the mental health problems of Cali GM, a 20-year-old California resident who has been a heavy social media user since childhood.
Kelly GM started using YouTube at the age of 6, Instagram at the age of 11, then TikTok and Snapchat.
The trial will determine whether Google and Meta knowingly designed their platforms to encourage compulsive use among young people, harming their mental health in the process.
The case, along with two similar trials taking place in Los Angeles this summer, aims to set a standard for resolving thousands of lawsuits that blame social media for fueling an epidemic of depression, anxiety, eating disorders and suicide among young people.
Read | Addiction by design? Lawsuits reignite debate over social media's impact on young minds
The proceedings focus solely on app design, algorithms, and personalization features, as US law provides platforms with almost complete immunity from liability for user-generated content.
TikTok and Snapchat, named in the complaint, reached confidential settlements with the plaintiffs before the lawsuit began.
'Problematic Use'
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri was the first Silicon Valley executive to testify on Feb. 11, telling jurors that he rejected the concept of social media addiction in favor of “problematic use” – Meta's preferred terminology.
“I'm sure I've said that I became addicted to a Netflix show after I watched it too late one night, but I don't think it's the same as clinical addiction,” Mosseri said.
In the courtroom gallery, mothers whose teenage children had died by suicide were clearly struggling to control their anger. They had camped overnight in the rain outside the court to secure seats.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri arrives at Los Angeles Superior Court before testifying on February 11, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
A day earlier, plaintiffs' attorneys called on psychiatrist Anna Lembke to explain how social media can act as a “gateway drug” for young people, steering their still-developing brains toward addictive behavior.
Confronted in the internal email exchanges, Mosseri defended Zuckerberg's 2020 decision to allow cosmetic surgery filters on Instagram, despite strong objections from other executives who warned of their harmful effects on young girls.
Some executives had pushed to reinstate the filter — which shows users what cosmetic procedures would look like — to avoid losing market share amid growing competition from TikTok.
YouTube CEO Neil Mohan was also scheduled to testify, but lawyers for the plaintiffs said Tuesday they would call another YouTube executive instead.
The Los Angeles proceedings are being run in parallel with a similar nationwide case before a federal judge in Oakland, California, which could result in another trial in 2026.
Meta also faces a lawsuit this month in New Mexico, where prosecutors have accused the company of prioritizing profits over protecting minors from sexual predators.
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