Zuckerberg told the LA jurors that children under 13 are not permitted on Instagram, but admitted there were “a meaningful number of people who lie about their age to use our services.”
In his testimony during Kaley’s trial, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri drew a distinction between what he called “problematic use” and outright addiction. Referring specifically to Meta-owned Instagram, he also told the jury that it was “not good for the company, over the long run, to make decisions that profit for us but are poor for people’s wellbeing.”
Today’s verdict makes clear that this won’t be the last time that those decisions will come under scrutiny.
Joseph VanZandt, another of Kaley’s attorneys, called today’s verdict “bigger than one case.”
“For years, social media companies have profited from targeting children while concealing their addictive and dangerous design features,” he said. “Today’s verdict is a referendum—from a jury, to an entire industry—that accountability has arrived.”
