Mark Zuckerberg, chief govt officer of Meta Platforms Inc., throughout a dinner with tech leaders within the State Eating Room of the White Home in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. US President Donald Trump stated he can be imposing tariffs on semiconductor imports “very shortly” however spare items from firms like Apple Inc. which have pledged to spice up their US investments. Photographer: Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos
Will Oliver | Bloomberg | Getty Photos
Meta Platforms‘ CEO Mark Zuckerberg should testify on the first trial for a lawsuit alleging opposed results of social media on youthful customers, a Los Angeles Superior Court docket decide dominated Monday.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Instagram’s Adam Mosseri may also must testify at trial, which is slated to start January, Decide Carolyn Kuhl dominated. The ruling adopted a listening to on Monday the place legal professionals argued towards the CEOs taking the witness stand.
“The testimony of a CEO is uniquely related, as that officer’s data of harms, and failure to take accessible steps to keep away from such harms may set up negligence or ratification of negligent conduct,” she wrote.
Kuhl dominated that their testimonies can be “distinctive,” given the allegations that social media firms didn’t warn customers of options created to “be addictive” and “drive compulsive” behaviors in minors.
Law360 was first to report the decide’s order.
Meta declined to remark. CNBC has reached out to Snap for remark.
The pending trial is one in all many alleging that social media know-how firms have intentionally created platforms and options that trigger hurt to youthful customers and injury their psychological well being.
Earlier this month, New York Metropolis filed a lawsuit towards a number of firms, arguing that they created addictive platforms that contribute to psychological well being points amongst kids. Final January, CEOs, together with Zuckerberg, testified at a Senate listening to on methods to guard kids from the harms of social media.
Meta motioned to cease Zuckerberg and Mosseri from testifying on the trial and argued for plaintiffs to make use of earlier trial testimony. The corporate stated making each CEOs attend extra in-person trials would intrude with enterprise and “set a precedent” to seem at different associated trials.
Snap argued that ordering Spiegel to testify can be an “abuse of discretion.”
Kirkland & Ellis, the regulation agency representing Snap, stated the choice by the courtroom does “not bear in any respect on the validity” of the claims in an announcement to CNBC.
“Whereas we believed that the earlier hours of deposition testimony and quite a few different executives who might testify was enough, we sit up for the chance to clarify why Plaintiffs’ allegations towards Snapchat are unsuitable factually and as a matter of regulation,” they wrote.