Internal emails show Meta knew millions of children under 13 were on Instagram – and targeted and studied them anyway
LOS ANGELES – As Mark Zuckerberg continues to testify in a landmark child safety trial at Los Angeles Superior Court, The Tech Oversight Project released the following statement reacting to this morning’s testimony:
“What we’re seeing in that courtroom today is exactly what we’ve long known to be true – Mark Zuckerberg built a machine that exploited children for profit, and he knew it,” said Sacha Haworth, Executive Director of The Tech Oversight Project. “Congress needs to act now to hold Big Tech accountable and stop CEOs like Zuckerberg from exploiting and hurting young people. They should start by following through on promises made to grieving parents and passing the bipartisan Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act into law.”
Key themes and evidence reported from the first half of the day’s testimony:
Targeting and studying underage users: Meta executives including Zuckerberg knew about the prevalence of under-13s like plaintiff KGM on their platforms and purposely sought out this demographic in contravention of federal law. The Wall Street Journal reported: “(Plaintiff’s lawyer Mark) Lanier showed an internal Meta email from 2015 that estimated 4 million children under 13 were using Instagram. He estimated that figure would represent approximately 30% of all kids aged 10 to 12 in the U.S.” Internal documents shown in court showed how Instagram documented the online behavior of kids as young as 8 years old, even though they weren’t supposed to be using the platform.
Doubling down on lies: Zuckerberg has consistently claimed he didn’t give his team goals to increase daily app use, and that there is no link between social media use and worse mental health outcomes – but Meta’s own research tells a very different story. Internal studies show Instagram worsens anxiety, depression, body-image issues, and even eating-disorder risk, especially for girls, while design features deliberately keep teens hooked despite the harm. And Zuckerberg was confronted with internal evidence showing he did in fact give goals: “Mark Lanier, a lawyer for the plaintiff, showed an email from 2015 in which the CEO stated his goal for 2016 was to increase users’ time spent by 12%.”
Spinning away accountability: Zuckerberg’s carefully calibrated public image has been calculated by a team of communications professionals who sought to improve the CEO’s popularity even among employees within his own company. Earlier today, The Tech Oversight Project issued a report documenting how Zuckerberg’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2024 conflicts with documents that have since been unsealed. Zuckerberg boasted that he has pledged 99% of his wealth to scientific research and charity, but was unable to answer questions about follow-through – this came mere hours after Meta announced that it will spend another $65 million to support state politicians friendly to the AI industry, bringing its pledged total to $150 million in electoral spending headed into the 2026 midterm elections.
Immediately following the conclusion of Zuckerberg’s testimony, plaintiffs’ lawyer Matthew Bergman of the Social Media Victims Law Center will be joined by survivor parents, advocates, and supporters outside the courthouse to offer their reactions to Zuckerberg’s testimony and emphasize the importance of public accountability.
