⚖️ JUDGEMENT DAY: Zuckerberg Takes the Stand in Landmark Trial

The Tech Oversight Project

The Tech Oversight Project

— 6 min read
⚖️ JUDGEMENT DAY: Zuckerberg Takes the Stand in Landmark Trial

Welcome back to The Dispatch from The Tech Oversight Project, your weekly updates on all things tech accountability. Follow us on Twitter at @Tech_Oversight and @techoversight.bsky.social on Bluesky.

Z-DAY HAS ARRIVED: As Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand today in the landmark social media addiction trials, newly unsealed case documents show how he has lied to Congress and the American people.

In 2024, Zuckerberg claimed, “Our job is to make sure that we build tools to help keep people safe,” and insisted, “We are on the side of parents everywhere working hard to raise their kids.” The evidence tells a different story: Meta targeted kids and tweens to “hook them young,” pushed them toward harmful content to maximize engagement, and knew the risks all along—internal studies warned of the damage, even comparing the company’s practices to Big Tobacco.

“This trial is a watershed moment because, for the first time, Meta is in the prone position of having to produce documents under court order – with actual legal penalties on the line. This isn’t a consequence-free zone or yet another opportunity to lie to lawmakers without fear of penalty,” said The Tech Oversight Project Executive Director Sacha Haworth. “For millions of Americans, this is deeply personal, and every day that Congress fails to bring up the Senate’s version of the Kids Online Safety Act is a missed opportunity to save lives.”

THE SCENE OUTSIDE THE COURT: Advocates who are gathering early outside the courthouse this morning have spent weeks preparing for today’s testimony, working to ensure it becomes a watershed moment for awareness and accountability. 

Last Friday, one block from the courthouse, bereaved parents unveiled the Lost Screen Memorial, featuring illuminated, large-scale smartphones bearing the images of 50 children who have tragically lost their lives due to social media addiction. 

Following today’s testimony, parents will gather again outside the courthouse with supporters and advocates to react to today’s testimony. We’ll be sure to keep you updated.

📈 RESULTS ARE IN: A near-universal percentage of Americans are disgusted by Big Tech for recklessly endangering minors by designing addictive products, according to a nationwide survey conducted by YouGov we released yesterday.

Over two-thirds of respondents said they would be more likely to vote for their Member of Congress if they are working to pass a bipartisan online safety law, like the Kids Online Safety Act, which would protect children and teens from dangerous social media features like infinite scroll, near-constant notifications, and predatory algorithms. 

🗳️ The bipartisan Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act got a boost last night in the form of praise from Vice President J.D. Vance.

📅 LAST WEEK IN COURT: The past seven days have seen the trial begin in earnest. To recap: 

  • Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri took the stand and his testimony confirmed that the company used a codeword to avoid talking about addiction and deleted data related to addiction, anxiety, and adverse encounters— despite the fact that Meta’s own internal documents and prior statements acknowledge that compulsive use of social media is dangerous.
  • Testimony from health experts shows that social media addiction is real and leads to life-long health consequences: Dr. Anna Lembke, a leading addiction expert, testified that social media platforms are engineered to deliver constant dopamine hits. And the companies know it: “Oh my gosh yall [Instagram] is a drug,” one Meta employee told another in documents released at trial. “We’re basically pushers,” was the reply.
  • Lawyers for one young plaintiff described how “parental controls” weren’t enough to help her parents save her — and an internal Meta study called “Project Myst” agreed that parents can’t stop addiction once it starts. “The moment Kaley was locked into the machine, her mom was locked out.”
  • More internal documents were presented in court showing that Meta execs fought hard for Instagram photo filters that were dangerous to young users’ mental well-being, because the features would drive product growth. 

🫑 THE OTHER META TRIAL: Opening arguments also began last week in New Mexico, where state AG Raul Torrez is suing the company for creating a “marketplace” for child predators and not doing enough to filter out addictive and dangerous content. “It’s brand first, but it’s not safety first,” the state’s attorney told the court.

➡️ BOTTOM LINE: Meta’s choice has always been: protect kids, or protect profits. Survivor parents and young people are in the courtroom today because they know which path the company keeps choosing.

📺 IMAGE REHAB: META FLOODS THE ZONE: As they face their Big Tobacco moment in court, tech giants are doing everything they can to make themselves look responsible. Meta’s spent millions buying over 3,500 image-burnishing ads on CNN, Fox, ABC, and local stations promoting their teen accounts, according to a TOP investigation. One single ad cost nearly $700,000.

TOP’s Sacha Haworth: “This is one hundred percent an influence play, designed to rehab Meta’s image in advance of a trial that they know is going to be very, very damaging to their brand. But no matter how much they spend, the smoking-gun evidence speaks for itself: they targeted our kids for addiction, and their own internal documents prove it.”

🏒 ON THIN ICE: A Meta-affiliated group has made a multimillion-dollar airtime buy in California during Winter Olympic coverage (and the landmark trial) to run ads about youth mental health. The “Coalition to Empower Our Future,” of which Meta is a member, continues to push the tired line that companies bear no responsibility and parents are to blame, with the ad stating: “We should start by acknowledging that each child is unique and then work together to support parents.”

⏩ Expect more P.R. attempts in the days and weeks to come. Top executives’ desperation may increase, but ultimately there’s no spinning away the public outrage that grows with each damning new revelation.

💪 STATES CONTINUE TO STEP UP FOR YOUTH ONLINE SAFETY: Big Tech is spending more than ever on lobbying to block child safety regulations, but in more and more states, lawmakers from both parties have stopped listening, and are doing the right thing. Recent highlights:

  • New Jersey: Dem Gov. Mikie Sherrill ran on kids’ online safety, and New Jersey legislators are delivering. Assemblywoman Andrea Katz just introduced a package of bills including a Kids Code, social media warning labels, and the creation of a social media observatory – and they’re set for their first hearing tomorrow.
  • South Carolina: GOP Gov. Henry McMaster just signed a Kids Code bill into law, putting real protections in place for young people online. (Predictably, Big Tech front group NetChoice immediately sued to block it – but the law still took immediate effect.)
  • New York: State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez has introduced a new chatbot safety bill developed with New York’s Attorney General Tish James, which would prohibit dangerous AI chatbots from interacting with kids. If companies break the law, parents will be able to sue.

We expect much more movement in statehouses this year, and that’s because online child protection is a winning issue. Parents, teachers, advocates, and lawmakers from both parties agree: making the internet safer for young people is the right thing to do.