Lawyers in landmark social media addiction trial make final appeals to the jury

Lawyers in landmark social media addiction trial make final appeals to the jury 1 of 5 | Mark Zuckerberg and opposing lawyers dueled in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday as he answered questions about young people’s use of Instagram, his congressional testimony and internal advice he’s received about being “authentic” and not “robotic.” 2 of 5 | Zuckerberg’s testimony is part of an unprecedented social media trial that questions whether Meta’s platforms deliberately addict and harm children. (AP Video by Krysta Fauria) 3 of 5 | Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaves after testifying in a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 4 of 5 | Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, arrives in court to testify in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 5 of 5 | This courtroom sketch shows Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying in a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (William T. Robles via AP) 1 of 5 Mark Zuckerberg and opposing lawyers dueled in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday as he answered questions about young people’s use of Instagram, his congressional testimony and internal advice he’s received about being “authentic” and not “robotic.” Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 5 Zuckerberg’s testimony is part of an unprecedented social media trial that questions whether Meta’s platforms deliberately addict and harm children. (AP Video by Krysta Fauria) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 5 Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaves after testifying in a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 5 Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, arrives in court to testify in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 5 This courtroom sketch shows Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying in a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (William T. Robles via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Los Angeles (AP) — After about a month of hearing from addiction experts, therapists, platform engineers and executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, a jury will listen to closing arguments before heading to the deliberation room to decide whether social media companies should be liable for harms caused to children using their platforms.Closing statements in the trial will begin Thursday at the Spring Street Courthouse in Los Angeles. Lawyers representing the plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman, and those representing the two defendants, Meta and Google-owned YouTube, will make their respective cases to the jurors. TikTok and Snap were also named defendants in the lawsuit, but they each settled before the trial began. The case, along with two others, has been selected as a bellwether trial, meaning its outcome could impact how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies are likely to play out. The plaintiff, identified as KGM in documents or Kaley, as her lawyers have called her during the trial, says her early use of social media addicted her to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. Both the defendants and the plaintiff have pointed to a turbulent home life for Kaley. Her attorneys say she was preyed upon as a vulnerable user, but attorneys representing Meta and Google-owned YouTube have argued Kaley turned to their platforms as a coping mechanism or a means of escaping her mental health struggles. Throughout the trial, Meta argued that Kaley faced significant challenges before she ever used social media. The company’s lawyer, Paul Schmidt, said earlier this month that the core question in the case is whether the platforms were a substantial factor in Kayley’s mental health struggles. Instead of focusing on Kaley, the attorneys representing YouTube argue that it is not a social media platform and that its features are not addictive.