OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
1:54 PM – Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrived at Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday to testify in a landmark trial accusing social media platforms of using addictive algorithm designs. This marks the first time the tech giant has defended itself before a jury in such a case, although Zuckerberg has previously testified before Congress.
The trial, which began in late January, was brought by a California plaintiff identified in court documents as “KGM.”
Now 20 years old, she alleges that her early and prolonged use of social media platforms — including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube — led to addiction and harmed her mental health, exacerbating issues like depression and suicidal ideation.
KGM claims these platforms were specifically engineered to be addictive through features such as “infinite scrolling,” also called auto-scrolling, and personalized recommendation algorithms. Her attorney, Mark Lanier, has likened the platforms to “digital casinos” designed to keep young users hooked.
“They didn’t just build apps, they built traps,” Lanier asserted. “They didn’t want users, they wanted addicts.”
Lawyers for Meta, the parent company of platforms Facebook and Instagram, adamantly rejected the allegations, maintaining that it aims to support its younger customers. In opening statements and subsequent cross-examinations, Meta’s lead attorney, Paul Schmidt, argued further that the company is not responsible for KGM’s condition.
Schmidt presented the jury with KGM’s medical and personal records, arguing that her depression and suicidal ideation were rooted in a turbulent home life, including “difficult circumstances” and “familial abuse.” Rather than the platforms causing the harm, Meta argues that KGM turned to Instagram and YouTube as a means of escape or a coping mechanism for pre-existing trauma.
Schmidt obtained KGM’s medical and personal records through a standard legal phase called discovery. When a plaintiff files a lawsuit claiming “personal injury” — in this case, mental health harm and addiction caused by a product — they effectively put their health at the center of the case. By claiming that social media caused her mental health issues, KGM legally opened the door for the defendants, Meta and Google, to examine her relevant medical history to see if other factors were responsible.
“There is no dispute in this case that she’s experienced mental health struggles,” stated Schmidt. “Was it Instagram or other causes? That’s the hearthstone that we’ll talk about.”
Thousands of lawsuits, brought by teenagers, school districts and state attorneys general, have alleged that social media platforms are intentionally designed to be addictive and harmful to minors. While tech giants consistently deny these claims, the legal pressure is mounting on multiple fronts.
On Monday, Meta also faced opening statements in a separate New Mexico trial, where New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez accused the company of allowing predators and chatbots to harm and groom young users.
Ultimately, this legal scrutiny reflects a growing global concern. Australia recently became the first country to impose an outright social media ban for children under 16, and nations like Malaysia, Spain, and Denmark are reportedly considering similar restrictions.
Legal experts frequently compare these proceedings to the landmark tobacco litigation of the 1960s, which eventually proved that cigarettes were both addictive and carcinogenic. Decades later, the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) settled dozens of state lawsuits by imposing strict marketing restrictions and prohibiting the targeting of youth — a historic precedent that many believe will serve as the blueprint for the future of Silicon Valley.
“A trial like this one will hopefully uncover the disconnect between what companies say publicly to drive up business and engagement and what is actually going on behind the scenes,” University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) law professor and tech justice attorney Melodi Dinçer told CBS News.
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