Zuckerberg defends Instagram in lawsuit over addictive potential

The Meta boss also admitted that the group’s services such as Instagram are sometimes also accessed by users under the age of 13, even though this violates the terms of use. Their accounts would be removed if this was noticed, he said, according to the television station CNBC.

Potentially game-changing process

In the lawsuit, the 20-year-old plaintiff, who only goes by the initials KGM, accuses online platforms of intentionally designing their services in such a way that users become addicted to them. For example, this is about the function that allows you to keep scrolling to the next post. According to her, the woman began using the platforms as a child – and attributes her depression and anxiety to this.

The lawsuit is currently directed against Google’s video platform YouTube and the photo and video service Instagram, which belongs to the Meta group run by Zuckerberg. The companies behind the competitors Snapchat and Tiktok, who were also originally sued, escaped the process through a settlement. The outcome of the case could have a groundbreaking effect for hundreds of other lawsuits of a similar nature.

The company rejects the allegations

Meta denied any responsibility at the beginning of the proceedings. The jury in Los Angeles was faced with the question of whether Instagram was a significant factor in the plaintiff’s psychological problems, the company said in a statement. “The evidence will demonstrate that she faced many significant and difficult challenges long before she ever used social media.” At the beginning of the trial, the meta-lawyers argued that the plaintiff’s psychological problems were due to mistreatment and unstable conditions in the family.

Meta also points to measures introduced over the years to protect young users, such as special accounts for teenagers and supervision functions for parents.

YouTube doesn’t consider itself a social network

At the start of the trial, a lawyer for the Google video platform YouTube also rejected the allegations. The plaintiff is not addicted to YouTube – and the platform does not belong to the social media category, but is more of a streaming service like Disney+ or Netflix, he said, according to media reports. There is also no evidence of excessive consumption of YouTube videos by the plaintiff. From 2020 to 2024, she used the platform for an average of 29 minutes per day, he said, according to the Courthouse News Service website.