Zuckerberg, Mosseri, and Spiegel Ordered to Testify in January Trial on Social Media Addiction and Youth Safety

A Los Angeles judge has ruled that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri, and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel must testify in a trial set to begin in January. The case focuses on social media safety, alleged addictive design, and potential harms to young users.

Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl wrote that a CEO’s testimony can be “uniquely relevant,” noting that knowledge of harms—and failures to mitigate them—could establish negligence or ratification of negligent conduct. Lawyers for Meta and Snap had argued the executives should be spared; the court rejected those arguments.

Key points

• Who must testify: Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Adam Mosseri (Instagram), Evan Spiegel (Snap).
• When/where: Trial begins in January in Los Angeles.
• Core issues: Whether platform design, policies, and enforcement contributed to addictive use and youth safety harms.
• Why it matters: First of many youth-harm lawsuits to reach trial; outcomes could influence platform policies and legal standards.

Why it matters

Putting CEOs under oath could surface internal research, risk assessments, and decision-making around features like recommendation algorithms, time-on-platform mechanics, age gating, and parental controls. Findings may drive future design changes, transparency measures, and possible regulatory actions.

What to watch

• Scope of testimony: Pretrial motions that may limit or expand CEO questioning.
• Discovery: Internal documents or studies on youth well-being and engagement tactics.
• Potential remedies: Settlement vs. verdict; possible mandates around age verification, default time limits, or algorithmic opt-outs.

References:
Engadget: Executives ordered to testify

Discussion: If you could pose one question to these CEOs about youth safety and engagement design, what would it be?