Zuckerberg testifies in US court in case of teenagers' addiction to social media
General Director Meta Mark Zuckerberg for the first time appeared before a jury in the United States in a high-profile case in which social platforms are accused of creating addiction and psychological problems in children and teenagers.
The essence of the trial
The hearing is taking place in California. The plaintiff claims that she started using Instagram і YouTube as a child, and then faced psychological difficulties during her teenage years.
The lawsuit states that the platforms could have been deliberately designed to keep young users online as long as possible to increase profits, which allegedly had a negative impact on their mental state.
The position of Zuckerberg and tech companies
During the interrogation, Zuckerberg is to answer questions about Meta's internal research on the impact of Instagram on young people. This is the first time that he testifies in a jury trial, The government has been working on this issue since the beginning of the year.
Meta and Google deny the allegations. Representatives of the companies emphasise that they are implementing safety tools for users and note that scientific evidence of a direct causal link between social media and adolescent mental disorders remains ambiguous.
Wider international context
Such court cases increase global pressure on large tech corporations to protect minors in the digital environment. A number of countries have already introduced age restrictions on access to social media or are considering relevant legislative initiatives.
Possible consequences
The decision in this case could set an important precedent for thousands of similar lawsuits in the US and affect the business models of social platforms, forcing them to strengthen their safety standards and responsibility towards young users.
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