Zuckerberg Tells Court He Contacted Tim Cook Over Teen Mental Health Concerns

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified this week in a major court case that centers on the mental health impact of social media on young users. During his testimony, Zuckerberg said he reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook to discuss the “wellbeing of teens and kids” who use their platforms.

The lawsuit was filed by the state of New Mexico and accuses Meta of failing to protect children on apps like Facebook and Instagram. The case argues that the company did not do enough to stop online predators from targeting minors. The trial has drawn national attention because of its potential impact on how social media companies design and manage their platforms.

According to CNBC, the lawsuit claims Meta “steered and connected users — including children — to sexually explicit, exploitative and child sex abuse materials and facilitated human trafficking” within the state. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez told CNBC’s Squawk Box, “What we are really alleging is that Meta has created a dangerous product,” adding that it enables “the targeting of children” and their exploitation both online and in real life.

Zuckerberg’s Email to Tim Cook

Defense lawyers questioned Zuckerberg about a February 2018 email exchange with Cook. Zuckerberg said, “I thought there were opportunities that our company and Apple could be doing and I wanted to talk to Tim about that.” He also stated, “I care about the wellbeing of teens and kids who are using our services.”

There are no public details about what the two executives discussed. Their relationship later became tense, especially after Cook publicly criticized Facebook’s privacy practices in March 2018.

The case also highlights another point of tension between the companies. Meta argues that Apple and Google should handle age verification at the app store level. Apple disagrees and says developers should manage age verification within their own apps, focusing on data minimization on a per app basis.

This trial joins several other legal challenges facing Meta this year, and the outcome could reshape how social media platforms operate and protect young users.