- Mark Zuckerberg speaks at social media addiction trial in Los Angeles
- He defended Meta’s approach to protecting teenage users.
- The plaintiff’s attorney argued that Meta was targeting teenagers for the platform’s growth.
Meta’s focus might seem more on artificial intelligence and smart glasses than the social media platforms that saw it rise to prominence, but the mistakes it is accused of making regarding keeping teens safe online could affect the entire company and the entire tech industry.
To bring you up to speed, Meta and YouTube are currently involved in a social media addiction trial taking place in Los Angeles, pitting the duo against a plaintiff who accuses the companies of intentionally creating harmful and addictive platforms.
It is one of thousands of similar lawsuits that have been filed against social media giants, which attempt to argue that the platform’s features, rather than the platform’s content, have created negative addictive tendencies in younger users. Social media content is protected by the infamous federal rule Section 230, which protects platforms from liability for user-generated content on their sites, but the plaintiff’s attorneys argue that the law does not protect features like infinite scrolling.
The trial began a little over a week ago, and after arguments from each side’s lawyers are presented, key figures are taking the stand, including, recently, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg defended his company’s actions, saying that while he regrets that Meta hasn’t progressed more quickly in its efforts to identify users under 13, teams working on platforms like Facebook and Instagram have spent years addressing “problematic use” because “it’s the right thing to do” (via the BBC).
This includes adding features like daily usage limits, usage alerts, and the ability to turn off notifications in the evening and at night.
However, he was asked about several internal messages, such as one from 2017 in which an executive says, “Mark has decided that the top priority for the company is teenagers” and another from 2015 in which Zuckerberg and others discuss strategies to increase “teen usage.”
Zuckerberg was also asked about a 2019 research report from an independent company conducted on behalf of Instagram, which said that teen users had “an addict narrative about their use of Instagram.”
As we have discussed in previous articles about this ongoing story, the verdict issued in this trial could have significant ramifications for social media companies. There are thousands of similar lawsuits pending in US courts that would take precedent from the decisions made here, and a negative outcome for Meta and YouTube could encourage more governments to introduce or tighten social media restrictions for younger users, following Australia’s lead.
But for both companies, a negative result – or even just a negative result in the court of public opinion – could affect not only their past mistakes but also their future projects.
Both Meta and Google, YouTube’s parent company, are currently making a big push into artificial intelligence and wearable devices with Ray-Ban Meta and Android XR glasses. Smart glasses are the big new thing in technology and there are rumors that Meta could finally launch a smartwatch to compete with the Android and Apple bands, but these devices can give these companies a lot of information about our lives and our physical health.
A recent report from the New York Times suggested that Meta wants to add facial recognition to its specifications, and numerous wearable brands have come up with visions of glasses that can remind you where you left your keys before leaving the house. But these features only work effectively if your technician is always watching your every move, listening to your every conversation, and deeply involved in your life.
If the perception (even if the trial verdict challenges it) is that Meta and YouTube – and by extension Google – misuse social media data to hook people on their technology, I imagine people would be unwilling to hand over even more data to these companies via wearable devices.
Likewise, if Meta and YouTube can show that they’ve done everything they can to keep users safe, that could help convince people that their wearable devices are the safest option in this new AI/AR wild west.
This is a case we will be following closely, although as the trial is still ongoing and appeals are likely to be filed, let’s not expect a final decision to be made any time soon.
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