Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will have to testify in the first-ever trial over the harmful effects of social media on young people, a Los Angeles judge ruled on Monday. The judge also ordered Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Instagram head Adam Mosseri to take the stand in the landmark case, which is set to begin in January.
The ruling is a major blow to the tech giants, who had been fighting to keep their top executives from testifying. Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl said the CEOs’ testimony is “uniquely relevant” because their knowledge of the potential harms of their platforms, and their failure to prevent them, could prove that the companies were negligent.
The judge said their testimony is “unique” because the lawsuit alleges that social media companies intentionally designed addictive features that “drive compulsive” behaviors in children.
This trial is just one of many that have been filed against the big social media companies, all of which claim the platforms are damaging the mental health of young users. Earlier this month, New York City filed its own lawsuit, and just last year, Zuckerberg and other tech CEOs were grilled by the Senate about the same issues.
Meta had argued that making Zuckerberg and Mosseri testify would interfere with their business and set a bad precedent. But the judge was not convinced. Now, the leaders of two of the world’s most powerful social media companies will have to answer for their platforms’ impact on kids, in a courtroom, under oath.
