Zuckerberg grilled in landmark social media trial over teen mental health

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 4 min read 100% complete by Sanya MansoorFebruary 18, 2026 at 08:37 PM

AI Summary

long article 4 min

Mark Zuckerberg testified in a landmark trial concerning social media's impact on teen mental health. The trial, taking place in Los Angeles, centers on claims that Meta intentionally designed its platforms to be addictive, harming young users. Lawyers questioned Zuckerberg about internal concerns regarding underage users and the potential harms of Meta's products on mental health. Zuckerberg stated that Meta has improved in identifying underage users, but also admitted he wished they could have done so sooner. This trial is the first time Zuckerberg has addressed child safety concerns before a jury, and is a bellwether case designed to gauge jury reaction, with similar cases pending against other social media companies.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

New York Post 30% Youtube 40% Los Angeles 40% CNBC ×340% Snap 40% TikTok 40% Adam Mosseri ×250% KGM ×260% Instagram ×470% Meta ×580% Mark Zuckerberg ×890%

Keywords

teen mental health 90% social media 90% mark zuckerberg 80% trial 80% child safety 70% underage users 70% mental health harms 60% addictive design 60% social media addiction 50% meta 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

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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teen mental health social media mark zuckerberg trial child safety underage users mental health harms addictive design social media addiction meta

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