Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., during a dinner with tech leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. US President Donald Trump said he would be imposing tariffs on semiconductor imports “very shortly” but spare goods from companies like Apple Inc. that have pledged to boost their US investments. Photographer: Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Will Oliver | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg must testify at the first trial for a lawsuit alleging adverse effects of social media on younger users, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Monday.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Instagram’s Adam Mosseri will also need to testify at trial, which is slated to begin January, Judge Carolyn Kuhl ruled. The ruling followed a hearing on Monday where lawyers argued against the CEOs taking the witness stand.
“The testimony of a CEO is uniquely relevant, as that officer’s knowledge of harms, and failure to take available steps to avoid such harms could establish negligence or ratification of negligent conduct,” she wrote.
Kuhl ruled that their testimonies would be “unique,” given the allegations that social media companies failed to warn users of features created to “be addictive” and “drive compulsive” behaviors in minors.
Law360 was first to report the judge’s order.
Meta declined to comment. CNBC has reached out to Snap for comment.
The pending trial is one of many alleging that social media technology companies have deliberately created platforms and features that cause harm to younger users and damage their mental health.
Earlier this month, New York City filed a lawsuit against several companies, arguing that they created addictive platforms that contribute to mental health issues among children. Last January, CEOs, including Zuckerberg, testified at a Senate hearing on ways to protect children from the harms of social media.
Meta motioned to stop Zuckerberg and Mosseri from testifying at the trial and argued for plaintiffs to use previous trial testimony. The company said making both CEOs attend more in-person trials would interfere with business and “set a precedent” to appear at other related trials.
Snap argued that ordering Spiegel to testify would be an “abuse of discretion.”
Kirkland & Ellis, the law firm representing Snap, said the decision by the court does “not bear at all on the validity” of the claims in a statement to CNBC.
“While we believed that the previous hours of deposition testimony and numerous other executives who may testify was sufficient, we look forward to the opportunity to explain why Plaintiffs’ allegations against Snapchat are wrong factually and as a matter of law,” they wrote.
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