In a Landmark Trial, Zuckerberg Takes the Stand
episodePreviously titled “In A Landmark Trial, Zuckerberg Takes the Stand” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 3, 2026
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What is the significance of Zuckerberg's testimony in this trial?
So it is 6.30 a.m. and it has just stopped raining. I am waiting outside a courthouse trying to get into this trial that is happening today. Yesterday morning, our colleague Megan Bobrowski was in Los Angeles. She was there for a landmark trial and to watch testimony from a very high-profile witness. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is supposed to testify, and Mark Zuckerberg is going to be defending himself and the actions of his company today in court. The key questions hanging over Zuckerberg's testimony? Is social media designed to be addictive? And is it harmful to teenagers? Last week, the plaintiff's attorney, Mark Lanier, spoke about the case on Fox Business.
How are social media platforms accused of causing mental health issues?
We slapped a subpoena on Mark Zuckerberg on purpose because we've got documents with his name that he authored that we believe show he put profits over the safety of children.
Lanier represents a 20-year-old woman who claims that she was harmed by social media use as a child.
And we're going to put him on the stand and I'm going to grill him on it.
Meta, which is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said in a statement prior to the trial's start that the plaintiff's lawyers will, quote, try to paint an intentionally misleading picture of Meta with cherry-picked quotes and snippets of conversations taken out of context. This trial, which is being heard by a jury, is the first of its kind, and the first of thousands of similar cases that are expected to go to court in the coming years. Here's Megan again. These cases are focused on how Meta designed its apps and whether Meta designed its apps to be addictive to people. That is a new argument that we're seeing. So the outcome could fundamentally change how the company operates. This could be a very big reckoning moment for big tech and social media might not ever look the same after this is said and done.
What legal protections do social media companies currently have?
Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Ryan Knudson. It's Thursday, February 19th. Coming up on the show, social media on trial.
This lawsuit being tried in Los Angeles, and the thousands of cases like it, follow a similar script as the lawsuits that were brought against Big Tobacco in the 1990s.
Disagreement forced on Big Tobacco dictates changes that three or four years ago all of us would have thought impossible. And it does it against a hostile, combative, and determined enemy.
In the 90s, tobacco companies were sued by state attorneys general over the health impacts of cigarettes, and they had to pay more than $200 billion in settlements.
We've arrived at our final destination, and that's the destination of tobacco justice. And now our people can breathe a lot easier.
What is the new strategy being used in lawsuits against tech companies?
This time, indeed, the people have won.
Now, in the trial where Mark Zuckerberg testified, the plaintiffs hope social media companies will face a similar reckoning. But using social media, of course, is very different from smoking cigarettes. A lot of people, including tech companies, say social media is a great way to stay connected and share information. Still, there have been questions for years about whether social media can be addictive. And over the last two decades, some researchers say they found a correlation between social media adoption and an increase in mental health issues among young people.
A new study has found a link between pre-teens' use of social media and future depression. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.
Up until now, lawsuits against social media companies have largely failed, thanks to a provision in a 1996 law known as Section 230. Section 230 is basically the stipulation at the federal level that says platforms cannot be held liable for the content on their platforms that's third-party content.
Who is the plaintiff in the case and what are her claims?
And that has been proven in court time and time again. That statute holds up. Social media companies say that Section 230 is a bedrock principle holding up the entire internet, and that if it goes away, freedom of speech online would be threatened. Here's Mark Zuckerberg in 2020.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the significance of Zuckerberg's testimony in this trial?
0:03–1:03
2
How are social media platforms accused of causing mental health issues?
1:03–2:24
3
What legal protections do social media companies currently have?
2:24–3:41
4
What is the new strategy being used in lawsuits against tech companies?
3:41–5:00
5
Who is the plaintiff in the case and what are her claims?
5:00–5:46
6
What evidence is being presented against Meta in the trial?
5:46–7:03
7
How does Zuckerberg defend Meta's design choices in court?
7:03–8:02
8
What implications could this trial have for future social media lawsuits?
8:02–19:19