Meta Platforms chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Feb 18 repeatedly said during
a landmark trial over youth social media addiction that the Facebook and Instagram operator does not allow kids under 13 on its platforms, despite being confronted with evidence suggesting they were a key demographic.
Mr Mark Lanier, a lawyer for a woman suing Instagram and Google’s YouTube for harming her mental health when she was a child, pressed Mr Zuckerberg over his statement to Congress in 2024 that users under 13 are not allowed on the platform.
Mr Lanier confronted Mr Zuckerberg with internal Meta documents.
The case involves a California woman who started using Instagram and YouTube as a child. She alleges the companies sought to profit by hooking kids on their services despite knowing social media could harm their mental health.
She alleges the apps fuelled her depression and suicidal thoughts and is seeking to hold the companies liable.
Meta and Google have denied the allegations, and pointed to their work to add features that keep users safe.
“If we want to win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens,” read one internal Instagram presentation from 2018.
Hellbound and Down 