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Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has arrived at a California court where he is due to testify in a landmark legal case over whether social media is addictive to children.
Mr Zuckerberg arrived at the LA Superior Court on Wedneday with an entourage of security and associates, where he will appear before a jury for the first time.
The 41-year-old the CEO of Meta is set to be grilled by attorneys who argue that social media algorithms are deliberately engineered as "digital casinos" to keep young users engaged.
He will be questioned by lawyers representing a now 20-year-old woman identified by the initials KGM, who claims she became addicted to social media following early use, which worsened her depression and suicidal thoughts.
Meta is one of several tech giants facing around 22 "bellwether" lawsuits, which are used as test cases to get a feel for how juries’ may react to potential verdicts.
Lawyers considered the testimonies of over 1,500 people when launching the action.
While other platforms – TikTok and Snapchat – have settled out of court, Meta insists it's committed to user wellbeing.
It follows years of backlash against Mr Zuckerberg's company.
People have previously attempted to sue the Instagram, Whatsapp and Facebook owners for online harm, but have largely failed.
Social media companies often rely on the Section 230 of America's Communications Act a defence, which shields online platforms publishing third-party content.
However, this is the first time the tech giants face a trial by jury.
The jury won't determine whether specific content on the platforms caused harm.
It will instead decide whether the companies were negligent when creating and altering their products to ramp up user engagement.
The plaintiffs argue that Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat "have rewired how our kids think, feel, and behave", similar to the method used against tobacco companies in the 1980s and 1990s.
Other key witnesses are expected to speak include Snap’s CEO, Evan Spiegel, YouTube’s Neal Mohan, and Instagram’s Adam Mosseri.
