Zuckerberg arrives to testify in social media addiction trial

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete February 18, 2026 at 06:11 PM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

Mark Zuckerberg testified in a California court on Wednesday in a landmark trial concerning social media addiction in children. The lawsuit, brought by the plaintiff K.G.M., accuses Meta (Instagram, WhatsApp) and Google (YouTube) of designing their platforms to be addictive, despite awareness of mental health risks. TikTok and Snapchat settled before the trial began. Zuckerberg is expected to face questions about Instagram's design and Meta's advertising-based business model. The trial, expected to last several weeks, includes testimony from former Meta employees and is being closely watched due to its implications for thousands of similar lawsuits against social media giants.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

WhatsApp 40% Google 40% Neal Mohan 40% California ×250% TikTok ×250% Snapchat ×250% Adam Mosseri 50% K.G.M ×360% YouTube ×470% Meta Platforms ×580% Instagram ×680% Mark Zuckerberg ×490%

Keywords

social media addiction 100% trial 90% meta platforms 80% instagram 70% mental health 60% legal case 60% advertising-based business model 50% lawsuits 50% children 50% zuckerberg 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.30

Source Transparency

Source

BBC News - World

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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social media addiction trial meta platforms instagram mental health legal case advertising-based business model lawsuits children zuckerberg

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