The Instagram Trial You Should Actually Be Paying Attention To
Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg testified in a Los Angeles courtroom. In front of a jury. About whether Instagram was built to addict children.
This is not a drill. This had my FULL attention since I LIVE in this world for collaborators.
If you continue to read this, just know I throw in sources to my observations because it’s important to me to keep accurate sources and information- not just emotional reaction. So I may have to update this post or rewrite it as new information is available.
A 20-year-old woman known only as K.G.M. is suing Meta and YouTube, claiming the platforms hooked her as a minor and led to depression, body dysmorphia, and suicidal thoughts. She alleges features such as recommendation algorithms and endless scrolling fueled compulsive use that contributed to anxiety, depression, and body image struggles. Dailyfly News Her attorney, Mark Lanier, framed it simply for the jury. He told jurors the case was "as easy as ABC," meaning "addicting the brains of children." NPR
TikTok and Snap were originally named in the lawsuit but settled with the plaintiff before trial. They remain involved in other pending cases. Dailyfly News Meta and YouTube are still fighting it out in LA Superior Court.
This is not a small case. It is the first of more than 1,500 similar lawsuits nationwide to go before a jury, potentially setting a precedent for how tech companies are held liable for product design decisions. ABC News
Here is what Zuckerberg said on the stand. He said he is "focused on building a community that is sustainable" and that he is "not trying to maximize the amount of time people spend every month" on Instagram. NBC News He said Meta does not want to make Instagram addictive. He said he navigated youth safety "in a reasonable way."
Cool theory. (Insert questioning look?)
Here is what the plaintiffs' attorney showed the jury. Lawyers shared a document stating that 4 million kids under 13 used the platform in the U.S. in 2015. CNBC Internal documents also showed goals to actively increase user daily engagement time on the platform to 40 minutes in 2023 and to 46 minutes in 2026. CNBC And when pressed on age verification, Zuckerberg acknowledged that the plaintiff's lawyer noted K.G.M. got on the app before age 13, with Zuckerberg saying, "I always wish we could have gotten there sooner." NBC News
Zuckerberg wrapped nearly eight hours of testimony by saying, "No product is perfect and we want to continuously improve to make the product better and better over time." ABC News
Eight hours. In a courtroom. About Instagram. (I would be DYING!)
You are a creative professional. You use Instagram to show your work, connect with clients, and stay visible between appointments or releases. You are not the target of this conversation. But your clients are someone's kids, and their relationship with this platform shapes how they find you, scroll past you, and consume your content.
The algorithm you post into every week is the exact system being dissected in a courtroom right now.
This does not mean you stop using Instagram. Please, don’t think that! It means you understand the environment you are working in. The platform is not neutral. The feed is not random. (As we know and we are constantly discussing in my DMs, emails and calls.) The features are not there for your benefit.
This is exactly why you need a strategy, not a posting habit. Showing up without intention on a platform that is built to pull attention in every direction is a losing game. Your feed, your captions, your timing all need to work harder because the platform is working against your audience's focus by design.
If your social media presence feels like shouting into a void, this might explain part of why. The void is crowded on purpose.
The case is expected to set a precedent for how tech companies are held liable for product design decisions. ABC News That could mean algorithm changes, feature redesigns, or platform-wide shifts that affect your reach directly.
Stay informed. Know the tools you are using. And if managing all of this sounds exhausting on top of running your actual business, that is a completely reasonable response.
Hey- thanks for reading to the end.
Sources: NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/mark-zuckerberg-testifies-landmark-social-media-addiction-trial-rcna259422
CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/18/meta-mark-zuckerberg-social-media-safety-trial.html
NPR: https://www.npr.org/2026/02/18/nx-s1-5716229/zuckerberg-social-media-addiction-trial
