In a court case investigating the harmful effects of social media addiction on teenagers, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, took the stand to refute accusations that Instagram is designed to be addictive for young users. The trial centers on the case of a 20-year-old woman known as ‘Kaylee’, who claims that excessive use of Instagram and YouTube led to severe mental health issues, including depression and body dysmorphic disorder. Zuckerberg stated that Meta focuses on creating sustainable communities rather than increasing users' time on the platform, contradicting claims made by the plaintiff.

The plaintiff's legal team argues that Meta and other tech companies have knowingly neglected the harmful impacts of their products on youth mental health for the sake of profit. During the proceedings, a striking visual was presented to the court: a 10-meter-long banner featuring hundreds of selfies submitted by Kaylee, highlighting her addiction and its consequences. The evidence included internal documents from Meta revealing that in 2015, around 4 million users under the age of 13 were identified, as well as nods in company research suggesting that beauty filters could exacerbate appearance-related anxiety among users. In defense, Zuckerberg noted that while Meta has policies against underage accounts, some children do lie about their age.

A particularly revealing aspect of the trial was the emergence of internal research suggesting that parental control has minimal impact on youth social media addiction. This finding hints at broader repercussions for how tech companies are held accountable for the mental health effects of their platforms, challenging the traditional narrative that parents can effectively manage their children's social media usage. As the case continues, it raises significant questions about the ethical responsibilities of tech companies amidst increasing concern over the mental health of young users.