Mark Zuckerberg Says Enforcing Instagram's Under-13 Age Rule Is Challenging
Zuckerberg testified in LA trial that verifying and enforcing Instagram's minimum age of 13 difficult due to users lying about their age.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified Wednesday in a landmark social media and youth safety trial that enforcing Instagram’s age limits — particularly keeping children under 13 off the platform — is “very difficult,” acknowledging the challenge of verifying ages online as tech companies face mounting legal and regulatory scrutiny.
Zuckerberg, who is on the witness stand in a case brought in Los Angeles Superior Court, defended the platform’s current safety practices while countering accusations that Meta intentionally targeted young users to grow its user base and promote addictive engagement. The lawsuit, filed by a young woman who alleges her early social media use contributed to addiction and mental health issues, has quickly become a bellwether for broader litigation against major social networks in the United States.
During testimony, Zuckerberg admitted that while Instagram’s policy formally prohibits users under the age of 13, the company struggles to enforce this limit effectively because many users lie about their age when signing up, and reliable age verification technology is limited. He explained that Meta has introduced proactive detection tools but characterised the task as challenging and reliant on more cooperation from device makers like Apple and Google.
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Internal company communications introduced in court reportedly showed that age limits were often unenforced, reinforcing the difficulty the platform faces in keeping out younger users. Meta has argued that app stores and mobile device policies should share some responsibility for age gating, not just the platforms themselves.
Zuckerberg also defended Instagram’s broader safety efforts, including new teen-focused privacy settings and default “PG-13” content filters for under-18 users. He told jurors that despite past conversations about attracting younger demographics, Instagram has never officially launched a version for children under 13.
The trial — closely watched by tech firms and regulators worldwide — could set major precedents in how social media platforms are held accountable for youth exposure, safety policies and potential psychological harms, and comes amid rising global calls for stricter age-verification standards and online child protections.
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