On Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, where he testified in a civil lawsuit accusing social media giants of prioritizing profits over the safety of minors.
Zuckerberg testified that children under 13 are not allowedon the platforms, but they break the rules. He also took issue with the idea that social media is intentionally addictive and harmful.
This is the first time Zuckerberg has testified in front of a jury about the alleged harms of social media.
Juliana Arnold is one of several parents not related to this case who showed up at court.
“He actually said and stated in his testimony that they were not trying to increase user numbers for teens to increase profits,” she told KNX News’ Emily Valdez. “He said they're trying to increase the value, yet he never defined the value, so it was very strange.”
Arnold’s daughter died after ordering a poisoned pill off social media. She said she hopes change will come after this trial.
“We cannot have our children have access to these platforms in their current status, unless legislation is passed that will force them to make these changes that are necessary to make their platforms safety designed by safety or that they themselves take those platforms down and recreate them in a way that's designed safely for our kids,” she said.
The lawsuit by a woman only known as KGM alleges that social media companies put profit over the mental health of young people.
This is the first time Zuckerberg has testified in front of a jury about the alleged harms of social media.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok