"Over the past 15 years, users of your products have repeatedly told your company and you personally that they find the products to be addictive, that's true isn't it? Previn Warren, a member of the prosecution team, asked Zuckerberg during the deposition, confronting him with internal company communications and emails from platform users spanning back to the infancy of Facebook in 2008 that discuss problematic and addictive use of social media."
"Yes, I think we focused on time spent as one of the major engagement goals. Zuckerberg conceded that he initially set goals for employees to increase the amount of time teenagers spent on its platform amid efforts to expand business revenue and the number of platform users, acknowledging the company's prioritization of engagement metrics over user wellbeing concerns."
"I think people sometimes use that word colloquially. That's not what we're trying to do with the products, and it's not how I think they work. Zuckerberg responded when confronted about users describing social media as addictive, disputing the characterization while simultaneously stating he wants to understand user concerns to improve products in ways users want."
In a bellwether trial, jurors reviewed a deposition of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding what the company knew about social media's harmful effects on young users. New Mexico's attorney general alleges Meta violated consumer protection laws by failing to disclose knowledge of addiction dangers and child sexual exploitation risks. Internal communications spanning from 2008 show users repeatedly described products as addictive. Zuckerberg disputed the term "addictive," claiming it's colloquial misuse, while acknowledging the company set engagement goals focused on increasing teenage user time to expand revenue. Meta's defense maintains the company discloses risks and removes harmful content, though some material bypasses safety measures.
#meta-litigation #social-media-addiction #child-safety #consumer-protection #platform-accountability
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