dead CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in court testimony on Wednesday that he had reached out to him apple CEO Tim Cook to discuss “the well-being of teens and children.”
The comments came after defense attorney Paul Schmidt pointed to an email exchange between Zuckerberg and Cook from February 2018. “I thought there were opportunities that our company and Apple could do something and I wanted to talk to Tim about that,” Zuckerberg said.
The email exchange was part of a broader portrayal by defense attorneys to show jurors that Zuckerberg was more proactive about the safety of young Instagram users than opposing counsel had previously presented to the court, going so far as to reach out to a rival company.
“I care about the well-being of the teens and children who use our services,” Zuckerberg said when describing some of the contents of the email.
Zuckerberg testified during a landmark trial in Los Angeles Superior Court on the issue of social media and safety, which is being likened to the industry’s “Big Tobacco” moment.
Part of the trial focused on the alleged harms of some digital filters promoting plastic surgery, which Instagram chief Adam Mosseri previously testified about earlier in the trial.
Zuckerberg said the company consulted with several stakeholders about the use of beauty filters on Instagram, but he did not name them specifically. The plaintiff’s attorney questioned Zuckerberg about messages that showed he lifted the ban because he was “patriarchal.”
“It seems like something I would say and something I would feel,” Zuckerberg replied. “It feels a little arrogant.”
Zuckerberg came under pressure over the decision to allow this feature when the company received guidance from experts that beauty filters had negative effects, especially on young girls.
He was specifically asked about one University of Chicago study in which 18 experts said beauty filters as a feature cause harm to teenage girls.
Zuckerberg, who noted that he thought this referred to so-called plastic surgery filters, said he saw those comments and discussed them with the team, and it was about freedom of expression. “I really want to get it wrong about giving people the ability to express themselves,” Zuckerberg said.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives at the Los Angeles Superior Court on February 18, 2026.
Jill Connelly | Getty Images
Zuckerberg echoed Mosseri’s previous sentiments he shared in court that Meta ultimately decided to lift the temporary ban on digital plastic surgery filters without promoting them to other users.
Defense attorney Mark Lanier noted that Facebook’s vice president of product design and responsible innovation, Margaret Stewart, said in an email that although she would support Zuckerberg’s final decision, she said she did not believe it was “the right decision given the risks.” In her letter, she stated that she had dealt with a personal family situation that she admitted made her biased, but gave her “first-hand knowledge” of the alleged harms.
Zuckerberg said that many Meta employees disagreed with the company’s decisions, something the company encourages, and while he understood Stewart’s point, there ultimately was not enough causal evidence to support outside experts’ assertion of damages.
When Lanier asked if Zuckerberg had a college degree that would indicate expertise in causality, the Meta chief said, “I don’t have a college degree in anything.”
“I agree that I don’t know the legal understanding of causation, but I think I have a good idea of how statistics work,” Zuckerberg said.
The trial, which began in late January, centers on a young woman who claimed to have become addicted to social media and video streaming apps such as Instagram and… YouTube.
The Facebook founder disputed the idea that the social media company has made increasing time spent on Instagram a company goal.
Zuckerberg was addressing a 2015 email thread in which he appeared to highlight improving engagement metrics as a pressing issue for the company.
While the email chain may have contained the phrase “company goals,” Zuckerberg said the comments could have been aspirational, and emphasized that Meta did not have those goals.
Lawyers later presented evidence from Mosseri, which included targets to increase daily user interaction time on the platform to 40 minutes in 2023 and to 46 minutes in 2026.
Zuckerberg said the company uses metrics internally to benchmark competitors and “deliver the results we want to see.” He stressed that the company is building services to help people communicate.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives at Los Angeles Superior Court ahead of a social media trial tasked with determining whether social media giants intentionally designed their platforms to addict children, in Los Angeles, February 18, 2026.
Frederick J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
The lawyers also raised questions about whether the company had taken sufficient steps to remove underage users from its platform.
Zuckerberg said during his testimony that some users lie about their age when signing up for Instagram, which requires users to be 13 or older. The lawyers also shared a document stating that 4 million children under the age of 13 use the platform in the United States
The Facebook founder said the company removes all underage users it identifies and includes terms around age during the sign-up process.
“You would expect a 9-year-old to read every minute detail,” the plaintiff’s attorney asked. “Is this your basis for swearing under oath that no children under 13 are allowed?”
Instagram didn’t start requiring birthdays when signing up until late 2019. Several times, Zuckerberg has expressed his belief that age verification is more appropriate for companies like Apple and Facebook. Googlewhich maintains mobile operating systems and app stores.
Zuckerberg later responded to questions about documents in which the company reported a higher retention rate on its platform for users who join as teens. He said lawyers were “misinterpreting” his words and that Meta doesn’t always release products in development like the Instagram app for users under 13.
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at the Los Angeles Superior Court trial in a key test case accusing Meta and Google’s YouTube of harming children’s mental health through addictive platforms, in Los Angeles, California, US, February 18, 2026 in a courtroom sketch.
Mona Edwards | Reuters
During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Carolyn B. Cole threatened to hold anyone using AI smart glasses during Zuckerberg’s testimony in contempt of court.
“If you do, you must delete it, otherwise you will be held in contempt of court,” the judge said. “This is very dangerous.”
Members of the team accompanying Zuckerberg to the building just before noon Eastern time were photographed wearing Meta Ray-Ban artificial intelligence glasses.
Recording is not permitted in the courtroom.
The lawyers also questioned whether Zuckerberg had previously lied about the board’s inability to fire him.
If the board wants to fire me, I can elect a new board and reinstate myself,” he said, responding to statements he previously made on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
During his interview with the broadcaster last year, Zuckerberg said he wasn’t worried about losing his job because he had voting power.
Zuckerberg told the court that he was “very bad” at dealing with the media.
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Attorneys representing the plaintiff contend that Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap misled the public about the safety of their services and knew that the design of their apps and certain features caused harm to the mental health of young users.
Snap and TikTok reached a settlement with the plaintiff involved in the case before the trial began.
Meta has denied the allegations, a CNB spokesman said C said in a statement that “the question for the jury in Los Angeles is whether Instagram was a material factor in the plaintiff’s mental health struggles.”
Last week, Instagram’s Mosseri testified that while he believes there can be a problem with social media use, he does not believe it is the same as clinical addiction.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram at Meta Platforms Inc., arrives at the Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles, California, US, on Wednesday, February 11, 2026.
Caroline Bryman | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“So it’s personal, but yes, I think it’s possible to use Instagram more than you feel comfortable with,” Mosseri said. “A lot is relative, it’s subjective.”
The Los Angeles trial is one of several major lawsuits taking place this year that experts have described as a “Big Tobacco” moment for the social media industry due to alleged harm caused by its products and related company efforts to deceive the public.
Parents of children who claim to have suffered the harmful effects of social media outside a courtroom in Los Angeles on Wednesday, February 18.
Jonathan Vanian
Meta is also involved in a major trial in New Mexico, where the state’s attorney general, Raul Torrez, claims the social media giant failed to ensure the safety of children and young users from online predators.
“What we’re really alleging is that Meta created a dangerous product, a product that allows not only the targeting of children, but also the exploitation of children in virtual spaces and in the real world,” Torrez told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week as the trial’s opening arguments began.
Another social media experiment in Northern California is expected to begin this summer. This trial also includes companies like Meta and YouTube and claims that their apps contain flaws that promote harmful mental health issues in young users.
CNBC’s Jennifer Elias contributed reporting.
He watches: New Mexico AG Raul Torrez talks about his case against Meta
