In a landmark lawsuit regarding social media addiction among minors, Meta Platform CEO Mark Zuckerberg dismissed allegations that Instagram targets children under 13, ignoring evidence that suggests they make up a significant demographic.
The social media addiction case involves a California woman who claims Instagram and YouTube damaged her mental health as a child, arguing the platforms make money by engaging young users.
Evidence of targeting young users
Zuckerberg faced fierce questioning from attorney Mark Lanier, who highlighted internal Meta documents indicating a strategy to attract younger users. One document said, “If we want to win big with teenagers, we have to bring them in as tweens.”
Lanier challenged Zuckerberg’s previous claims before Congress, in which he claimed that users under 13 are not allowed on the platform. In response, the Meta boss claimed that Meta discussed creating a version of Instagram for children, but did not move forward with it.
While investigating Meta’s past strategies, Lanier presented emails that revealed Zuckerberg’s goal of increasing user engagement on Instagram. While he acknowledged that previous goals were devised to increase time spent on the app, he insisted that the company has shifted its focus.
The lawsuit stands as a critical test case for similar claims against Meta and other tech giants, as families and organizations increasingly choose to hold them accountable for the platforms’ impact on young people’s mental health.
Should the petition bring a ruling against Meta, it would challenge longstanding legal protections for tech companies from liability for user harm.
