Meta’s Zuckerberg pushes back on social media youth addiction claims
In a Los Angeles court, the Meta CEO was questioned about whether Instagram’s design contributed to addictive behavior.
![The case’s outcome could set the stage for a wave of comparable lawsuits facing social media giants including Meta [Mike Blake/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-02-18T185549Z_625422236_RC2GOJAFDT1W_RTRMADP_3_SOCIALMEDIA-TRIAL-1771447061.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
In a Los Angeles court, the Meta CEO was questioned about whether Instagram’s design contributed to addictive behavior.
![The case’s outcome could set the stage for a wave of comparable lawsuits facing social media giants including Meta [Mike Blake/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-02-18T185549Z_625422236_RC2GOJAFDT1W_RTRMADP_3_SOCIALMEDIA-TRIAL-1771447061.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)





![The cases comes amidst a wave of 40 lawsuits brought against Meta alleging the social media giant prioritized profits over safety for kids [File: Dado Ruvic/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-02-09T103924Z_565968379_RC2VPGAKTI7X_RTRMADP_3_EU-META-PLATFORMS-AI-ANTITRUST-1770666518.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)


Governments are launching a global drive to scale proven measures to prevent violence against children.

The long-awaited re-opening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing has been deemed too late for many seeking treatments.
Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian, were accompanied home by Texas Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wore a keffiyeh and condemned global silence of Palestinian children’s suffering.

Israel’s destruction of fertility clinics in its war on Gaza left thousands of Palestinians mourning unborn children.
Dozens of people rescued in Lampedusa after vessel crossed from Tunisia in dangerous conditions, Save the Children says.
UK ministers will visit Australia to gather information on the social media ban for under-16s implemented last month.
Rights group says Palestinian children are ‘increasingly targets’ as Israeli military and settler violence soars.
Melissa McKay of the Digital Childhood Institute filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
After more than two years of a genocidal war, wounded and traumatised Palestinian children stare at an uncertain future.