Mark Zuckerberg has defended Meta Platforms during testimony in a social media addiction trial, rejecting claims that the company targeted young users and arguing that internal communications presented in court were being taken out of context.

Appearing before a jury, Mark Zuckerberg said lawyers for the plaintiffs were “mischaracterising” emails, messages and research documents cited to support allegations that Meta’s platforms encouraged excessive use among children and teenagers. 

The case focuses on whether social media services, including Instagram, are addictive for young users.

The proceedings mark Zuckerberg’s first jury trial appearance and come amid legal challenges faced by Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook. YouTube is also named as a defendant. TikTok and Snapchat had been part of the lawsuit but reached settlements shortly before the trial began. The settlement terms were not made public.

Meta has said it restricts users under 13 and has taken steps to address concerns related to younger audiences. During questioning, however, Mark Lanier, a lawyer for a woman who accuses Meta of harming her mental health when she was a child, presented internal documents showing discussions among senior Meta staff about teenaged and younger users.

One email from 2019, addressed to Zuckerberg and other executives, raised concerns about what it described as “unenforced” age limits. The message stated this made it “difficult to claim we’re doing all we can,” according to the email sent by Nick Clegg, who previously served as the UK’s deputy prime minister.

Lanier also cited a 2019 research report conducted by an external firm for Instagram. The report stated that teens felt “hooked despite how it makes them feel” and described what it called “an addicts’ narrative” around Instagram use. The findings noted that teen users said the platform could make them feel good or bad and that they wished they spent less time thinking about it. Zuckerberg responded that the research was not carried out internally at Meta.

Under questioning by Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt, Zuckerberg said the same report also highlighted “positive” aspects of Instagram use. 

Lanier presented a 2018 internal presentation referring to the retention of “tweens” on Instagram, despite company policies barring such users. Zuckerberg said he regretted not moving faster to identify users under 13 but said the company reached “the right place over time.” He added that teen users accounted for “less than one percent” of Meta’s advertising revenue and said the document had been taken out of context.

Zuckerberg told the court that Meta had discussed building versions of its products for children under 13 “in a regulated way,” citing Messenger Kids, which he said he uses with his own children. “You’re mischaracterising what I’m saying,” he told Lanier. “I’m not surprised that people internally were studying this.”

Schmidt referenced tools introduced by Instagram in 2018 that allow users to set daily limits, receive alerts about time spent and disable notifications at night. Lanier later cited an internal document showing that use of these tools among teens was limited, with 1.1 percent of teen users opting for daily time limits.