Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in a New Mexico court Wednesday that criminal activity on the company’s platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, is “inevitable” given the scale of their user base. The admission came during a deposition played for jurors in a trial brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, who alleges Meta prioritized profits over the safety of young users.
Zuckerberg stated, according to testimony presented in court, that with billions of users, “some very compact percent of them are going to be criminals,” and that complete prevention of such activity is unrealistic. The deposition was part of the ongoing trial examining the impact of social media on teenagers and children, specifically focusing on allegations of child sexual exploitation and addictive design features.
The Attorney General’s case centers on claims that Meta knowingly enabled predators to exploit children through its platforms. Meta disputes these allegations, pointing to safety measures implemented, including teen accounts with default privacy protections launched in 2024. The trial, which began in early February, is expected to last approximately seven weeks.
During the deposition, prosecutors confronted Zuckerberg with internal company communications dating back to 2008, which discussed “problematic” and addictive use of Facebook. Attorney Previn Warren questioned Zuckerberg about repeated user feedback identifying the platforms as addictive. Zuckerberg reportedly resisted characterizing the platforms as such, stating that “people sometimes use that word colloquially” and that creating addictive products was not the company’s intention.
Meta has stated it has “strict, longstanding rules against child exploitation” and has “invested billions” in proactive detection technology and safety features. Still, the Attorney General’s office argues these measures are insufficient and that the company failed to adequately disclose the risks associated with its platforms.
The deposition also touched on Meta’s internal research regarding the negative experiences of young users. The trial is considered a bellwether case, potentially setting a precedent for similar legal challenges against other social media companies. As of Wednesday, Meta had not released a statement responding to the specific content of Zuckerberg’s deposition as presented in court.
