Mark Zuckerberg Testifies In L.a. Trial Over Claims Social Media Makes Kids Addicted

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg made an extended, pugnacious quality successful Los Angeles Superior Court connected Wednesday, defending his institution from nan witnesser guidelines against a suit that alleges societal media harms children.

The Meta leader appeared successful a acheronian suit and grey tie, his signature chestnut curls somewhat mussed, darting occasional tense looks astatine nan assemblage and nan 20-year-old plaintiff, who sat successful nan courtroom gallery.

“I’m not —I deliberation I’m really benignant of good known to beryllium very bad astatine this,” Zuckerberg told nan young woman’s attorney, Mark Lanier, erstwhile pressed astir nan master polish of his testimony.

In a melodramatic infinitesimal precocious successful nan morning, Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl sharply warned anyone successful nan courtroom against wearing Meta’s AI glasses.

“If your glasses are recording, you must return them off,” nan judge said. “It is nan bid of this tribunal that location must beryllium nary facial nickname of nan jury. If you person done that, you must delete it. This is very serious.”

The admonition was met pinch soundlessness successful nan courtroom.

Simply getting Zuckerberg connected nan guidelines Wednesday was a coup for nan plaintiffs and a liability for his company’s platforms, which must now contend pinch profound nationalist distaste for nan Meta figurehead.

According to a study past twelvemonth by nan nonpartisan Pew Research Center, the overwhelming mostly of American adults person an unfavorable position of Zuckerberg.

The percent of adults who position him very favorably is connected par pinch nan stock who judge nan Earth is level aliases that aliens unrecorded among us.

“It’s a very large deal,” said Jenny Kim, an lawyer successful a related lawsuit. “The full world is coming to watch him.”

Crowds filled nan plaza extracurricular nan Spring Street courthouse downtown Wednesday, pinch lines stretched retired nan doorway to participate nan building, wherever galore had waited for hours conscionable for a glimpse of nan CEO.

The plaintiff, a Chico, Calif., female referred to arsenic Kaley G.M., appeared successful nan courtroom for nan first clip since she was concisely introduced during opening statements connected Feb. 9.

Her suit is simply a trial lawsuit chosen from among hundreds charging that Instagram and YouTube were designed to snare young users and support them hooked connected their services. Two different defendants, TikTok and Snap, person settled retired of court.

Zuckerberg testified that children nether 13 person ne'er been allowed connected nan platform. Kaley said successful her declare that she started utilizing Instagram astatine property 9.

“I mostly deliberation that location are a group of people, perchance a meaningful number of group who dishonesty astir their property successful bid to usage our services,” he said. “There’s a abstracted and very important mobility astir enforcement, and it’s very difficult.”

Lanier showed an soul archive from 2018 suggesting that Instagram believed astir 4 cardinal users were nether 13 — astir 30% of each 10 to 12-year-olds successful nan U.S. astatine nan time.

“There’s a favoritism astir whether personification is allowed to do thing and whether we’ve caught them for breaking nan rule,” Zuckerberg said successful consequence to repeated questioning. “I don’t spot why this is truthful complicated. It’s been our clear argumentation that group nether nan property of 13 are not allowed.”

Meta’s lawyers person truthful acold sought to discredit nan thought of societal media addiction, while simultaneously casting uncertainty connected whether Kaley really has it.

Zuckerberg’s individual likability is irrelevant to nan case, nan institution said.

“The mobility for nan assemblage successful Los Angeles is whether Instagram was a important facet successful nan plaintiff’s intelligence wellness struggles,” said Meta spokeswoman Stephanie Otway. “The grounds will show she faced galore significant, difficult challenges good earlier she ever utilized societal media.”

Parents and family members clasp earlier entering nan Los Angeles Superior Court connected February 18, 2026, for a civilian proceedings complete a suit that claims societal media giants deliberately designed their platforms to beryllium addictive to children.

(Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images)

Regardless of nan result of nan trial, Zuckerberg’s grounds has nan imaginable to complicate Meta’s image and governmental ambitions, experts said.

“Just his quality connected nan guidelines illustrates really nationalist sentiment has shifted,” said David McCuan, a governmental subject professor astatine Sonoma State University, who studies tech successful politics. “That has important impacts connected Meta’s power and large tech’s power successful California politics.”

Indeed, nan CEO takes nan guidelines arsenic Meta doubles down its efforts to power Golden State affairs.

The institution has agelong been a cardinal subordinate successful authorities and section races, pouring millions into ballot measures, nan authorities legislature and candidates for California governor. It regularly lavishes rate connected some sides of an issue, and opponents successful nan aforesaid race.

Last year, nan corp sunk $20 cardinal into a caller authorities ace PAC — Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across (Meta) California — pinch an oculus to cardinal 2026 races.

It has besides pledged $50 cardinal to a associated task pinch Sacramento State University to redevelop nan Capital Mall.

“They’ve go overmuch much violative pinch their money,” McCuan said. “They’re not conscionable blocking legislation, they’ve been much actively trying to alteration their image.

That has nan imaginable to backfire, he and others said.

“Voters are beautiful upset heading into nan midterms,” nan master said. “It comes astatine a infinitesimal erstwhile consumers, users, voters, are fresh to propulsion nan book astatine personification aliases something. Now you person a feline who could seizure that anger.”

“When you deliberation astir really Meta is utilizing Meta’s money, it’s people Zuckerberg’s slush money to play successful California aliases nationalist politics,” said Sacha Haworth, executive head of The Tech Oversight Project, a watchdog group.

A media campy is set-up extracurricular nan Spring Street Courthouse successful downtown Los Angeles, wherever Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was scheduled to attest connected Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

At nan aforesaid clip Meta expanded its governmental spending, Zuckerberg and his woman Priscilla Chan aggressively redirected their charitable giving to AI and technological research.

“I person pledged to springiness almost each of my money to charity, and I attraction connected giving billions of dollars to subject research, truthful nan amended that Meta does, nan much we’re capable to do that benignant of research,” he told Lanier erstwhile pushed connected his individual liking successful nan company.

The judge successful parallel national litigation has already ruled Zuckerberg can’t look individual liability, putting his estimated $220 cardinal luck retired of scope for nan thousands of plaintiffs.

“Most of [my] banal successful Meta is owned by nan CZI organization,” nan CEO told nan jury. “We put successful subject investigation and different charitable causes.”