Zuckerberg tells jury he regrets slow progress on spotting under-13s on Instagram: 'Wish we could have gotten there sooner'

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, in Los Angeles, Califorina, on February 18, 2026. RYAN SUN / AP

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, February 18, said he regretted the slow progress his company made in identifying underage users on Instagram as he testified at a landmark social media addiction trial in Los Angeles.

Asked to comment on complaints from inside the company that not enough was being done to verify whether children under 13 were using the platform, the 41-year-old head of Meta, which also owns Facebook and WhatsApp, said improvements had been made.

But "I always wish that we could have gotten there sooner," he added.

Zuckerberg was the most hotly anticipated witness in the California trial, the first in a series of cases that could set legal precedent for thousands of lawsuits filed by American families against social media platforms. The trial marked the first time the multibillionaire addressed the safety of his world-dominating platforms directly before a jury.