Mark Zuckerberg testifies in landmark social media addiction trial: Here's what he really said about social media addiction

On February 18, 2026, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., gave testimony in a historic trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court about social media and youth mental health, according to Reuters. This is one of the first big lawsuits in the US to ask if big social media companies made features that could be addictive for kids and teens on purpose, which led to bad mental health outcomes.

The plaintiff in the trial, whose initials are K.G.M., is a 20-year-old woman who says that using social media sites at a very young age made her depressed, anxious, and had other mental health problems. She claims that companies, including Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) and YouTube, built their products in ways that encouraged extended and compulsive use by young users. TikTok and Snap have already settled similar claims before trial, but Meta and Google remain in the courtroom.


Zuckerberg’s testimony represents the first time he has appeared under oath in this consolidated wave of lawsuits alleging youth harm. Lawyers for the plaintiff presented internal company documents and questioned the Meta CEO on issues ranging from platform design to user age verification practices. The trial is expected to unfold over several weeks and may set a legal precedent for hundreds of similar cases nationwide.

Mark Zuckerberg testifies in social media trial: His testimony on addiction claims

Response to addiction claims
According to reports, Zuckerberg repeatedly denied that Meta designed Instagram or other platforms to be addictive for children and teenagers. He told jurors that the company’s intention was not to maximise the amount of time people spend on the platform but to build products that users find “useful.”

When asked directly whether Meta wanted people to become addicted to its services, Zuckerberg said the company aims to foster sustainable use rather than exploit users’ time for profit. He rejected the idea that Instagram’s features were engineered specifically to pull in younger users to generate long-term dependency.


Underage users and age verification
A central focus of questioning was whether Meta effectively prevents children under 13 from using Instagram, a rule in the platform’s policy. Zuckerberg said he recognises that enforcing age limits is difficult, noting that many users lie about their ages to gain access. He acknowledged that Meta deployed tools to identify and remove underage accounts but described this challenge as ongoing.

The plaintiff’s legal team showed documents suggesting that Meta had internal discussions about how to attract younger users, although Zuckerberg stated that such records were being mischaracterised. Meta’s position has been that improvements to safety and age verification have been introduced over time.

The legal arguments on both sides

• Plaintiff’s claims

The lawsuit alleges that Meta and YouTube exploited psychological and algorithmic design features such as endless scrolling, notifications, and recommendation systems to keep young users engaged at the expense of their mental health. Internal Meta documents shown in court say that the company knew about the risks of teens using their products.

The plaintiff says that these design choices made her mental health problems worse and that the companies should be held legally responsible for any harm that comes from using the product for a long time, starting in childhood.

• Meta’s defense

Meta has maintained that its products are not intentionally addictive and that there is no definitive scientific consensus that use of social media causes clinical addiction. The company points to ongoing investments in safety features and policies aimed at protecting younger users. According to Reuters, official statements also emphasise that many external factors such as home life and overall well-being, contribute to mental health outcomes.

Zuckerberg also stressed that past engagement goals within Meta were internal benchmarks and not instructions to design platforms for addiction. He reiterated that people will use products more if they are truly useful, not because they are designed to make people want to use them.

Broader context and industry impact

This case is part of a larger trend in the US where people are suing social media companies and making claims about the mental health of young people. Reuters said that more than 1,600 similar lawsuits have been combined, making this trial a bellwether case. The outcome of this case could affect how courts handle future claims against Meta, Google, TikTok, Snap, and other digital platforms.