Mark Zuckerberg Takes the Stand, No Meta Ray-Bans Allowed

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand Wednesday to defend his company in a court case that alleges Instagram was designed to be addictive to kids. There was no livestream from the court proceedings in Los Angeles, nor will there be if the judge has her way.

Judge Carolyn Kuhl warned Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court that anyone caught recording with AI glasses will be held in contempt of court, according to Forbes, which notes that recording in California Superior Courtrooms is prohibited.

“If you have done that, you must delete that, or you will be held in contempt of the court,” the judge said, according to CNBC. “This is very serious.”

At least two of the people who walked into court with Zuckerberg on Wednesday morning were spotted wearing Meta Ray-Ban glasses. It’s not clear if the judge was addressing those people directly or others who may have been in attendance, trying to record the activity on the sly. Meta Ray-Ban glasses have become controversial since their release for their ability to allow people to record others, though they have a light that’s supposed to illuminate when they’re actively recording.

Zuckerberg was in court on Wednesday to face questions about a case brought by a now-20-year-old woman who says she became addicted to Instagram in elementary school. The woman, identified by the name “Kaley,” has brought the first of what could be over 1,500 cases that could go to trial with similar claims. All eyes are on Kaley’s suit since a loss could be an indication of how social media companies might fare in the future under similar legal challenges.

Kaley was not in court today, according to CNN, but is expected to testify at some point. Today, it was Zuckerberg on the hot seat, pressed about whether Meta was intentionally trying to hook children on its products. The plaintiff’s lawyers presented internal slides from 2015 that showed over 4 million Instagram users in the U.S. were under the age of 13, according to CNN. Instagram started asking for a user’s age in 2019.

Zuckerberg reportedly responded that before 2019, the reason they didn’t ask for an age was related to concerns over privacy. But the Meta CEO said that he believes they eventually landed on the right policy.

Zuckerberg didn’t give a straight answer to questions about whether Instagram was addictive, according to the Associated Press, instead opting to say things like “I’m not sure what to say to that,” and “I don’t think that applies here” when pressed about whether “people tend to use something more if it’s addictive.”

The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, testified last week that he didn’t think 16 hours of Instagram use was considered an addiction, characterizing it instead as “problematic use,” according to the BBC.

Kaley has sued YouTube, Snap, and TikTok as well, though Snap and TikTok settled before the trial. The Associated Press reports that Zuckerberg was asked about internal documents related to how he’d been taught to talk about these issues in the media and said he’d been given advice to not sound robotic. Zuck explained, “I think I’m actually well known to be sort of bad at this.”

Meta sent Gizmodo a statement about the hundreds of cases the company is currently facing surrounding kids and addiction to Instagram:

We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.

For over a decade, we’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted in-depth research to understand the issues that matter most. We use these insights to make meaningful changes – like introducing Teen Accounts with built-in protections and providing parents with tools to manage their teens’ experiences. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, and we’re always working to do better.

Addressing the case on Wednesday specifically, Meta seemed to suggest that the company would present evidence that Kaley’s mental health challenges predated her signing up for Instagram.

“The question for the jury in Los Angeles is whether Instagram was a substantial factor in the plaintiff’s mental health struggles. The evidence will show she faced many significant, difficult challenges well before she ever used social media.”

Kaley reportedly joined Instagram when she was 9 years old, according to CNN.