<2>Mark Zuckerberg Downplays Meta’s Own Research in New Mexico Child Safety Trial
<3>Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in a New Mexico child safety trial, where he was asked about the company’s understanding of social media addiction and other issues studied by its researchers.
During the deposition, which was recorded last March, Zuckerberg was asked about numerous findings from researchers at Meta who studied how the company’s apps affect users and teens. The CEO downplayed the significance of many of these documents.
<3>Early in the testimony, Zuckerberg was questioned about a document on the effect of feedback on Facebook users. The document stated that “contributors on Facebook are likely to learn to associate the act of posting with feedback” which will “lead contributors to seek rewards by visiting the site more often.”
Zuckerberg said he wasn’t “sure if that’s actually how it works in practice, but I agree that you’re summarizing what they appear to be saying.”
<3>Later, the CEO was questioned about a document that graphed the proportion of 11 and 12-year-olds who were monthly active users on Instagram. The chart indicated that at the time, around 20 percent of 11-year-olds were monthly users of the service.
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