Meta tried to block lawyers from asking Mark

Meta tried to block lawyers from asking Mark

Meta quietly tried to block attorneys from asking Mark Zuckerberg about his huge fortune at the bombshell social media habit trial in Los Angeles, according to court docket paperwork reviewed by The Post.

The proprietor of Instagram and Facebook made a confidential request to “shield Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s founder, CEO, and controlling shareholder, from the very same scrutiny that other witnesses have faced,” according to a submitting unsealed last Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The plaintiffs allege that Zuckerberg — who at the moment ranks as the world’s fifth-richest particular person with a private web value of $231 billion, according to Bloomberg — turned a blind eye to rampant hurt to teenagers attributable to his apps so as to defend his income.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaves the Los Angeles Superior Court after testifying on February 18, 2026 in Los Angeles. Getty Images

“Meta cannot coherently argue that the magnitude of those holdings — the very figure that gives his financial interest its probative force — is somehow off limits,” attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote.

Meta’s request to quash the cash questions stays under seal. It resulted in a partial victory for Meta, with California state Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl ruling that questions about Zuckerberg’s compensation and inventory holdings had been allowed, while particular questions associated to his whole web value and property like property and houses had been prohibited.

“While Mark Zuckerberg’s financial standing is a matter of public record, based on the Court’s existing orders and established California law, it is not relevant to this case,” a Meta spokesperson said in a press release.

Survivor mother and father Deb Schmill, Judy Hogg,Toney Roberts and Brandy Roberts pay attention as a lawyer speaks to the press exterior the Los Angeles Superior Court at United States Court House on February 18, 2026 in Los Angeles. Getty Images

Nevertheless, the 41-year-old tech tycoon still ended up getting grilled about his fortune when he took the stand on Feb. 18.

Mark Lanier, the lawyer for the California girl recognized as “KGM” who claims Meta’s apps wrecked her psychological health, made a snarky point out of Zuckerberg’s “spending habits,” according to a transcript of the listening to.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs had been barred from asking Mark Zuckerberg about his property. MEGA

Zuckerberg — who owns a 2,300-acre compound in Hawaii as well as to a $300 million superyacht and a Gulfstream jet — responded that the more Instagram succeeded, “the more I will be able to invest in science, research and causes like that” by way of his basis, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

“OK, and how much have you pledged towards helping with those people who have been hurt by social media?” Lanier shot again.

Parents, who say they misplaced their youngsters because of social media, stand exterior court docket holding palms in Los Angeles, February 18, 2026. REUTERS

“That’s not a part of the focus of the foundation,” responded Zuckerberg, who jetted off together with his spouse to Milan Fashion Week after his trial look.

Both Meta and Google, which owns YouTube, are also accused in the landmark case of intentionally rolling out addictive options and failing to present satisfactory security sources.

In the submitting, plaintiffs’ lawyers argued Zuckerberg’s huge wealth was “directly relevant to substantive issues the jury must resolve during the liability phase of this trial, including whether Meta’s conduct constituted malice.”

Los Angeles, CA Court sketches present Mark Zuckerberg taking the stand in landmark trial over a lawsuit alleging Instagram and YouTube deliberately addict younger people.
Mona Shafer Edwards / BACKGRID

Lanier also requested Zuckerberg if he remembered a January 2024 Senate listening to wherein Sen. Josh Hawley requested him if he would commit to “set aside money to help the victims of social media.”

“Not specifically in those words,” Zuckerberg responded.

It was during that Senate listening to that Zuckerberg infamously stood up and apologized to the households of victims of social media hurt, including some who had dedicated suicide after being focused in on-line “sextortion” plots. When Hawley requested Zuckerberg if he deliberate to compensate the households, Zuckerberg replied, “I don’t believe so.”

From left, Anna Wintour, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Lorenzo Bertelli and Elena Micaela Basile attend the Prada Fall/Winter 2026-2027 Women’s assortment introduced in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Colleen Barry) AP

During another trade at the social media habit trial, Lanier grilled Zuckerberg about the “extensive media training” he has acquired since founding Facebook and its position in defending the company’s backside line.

The self-admittedly awkward Zuckerberg quipped in response that he was “actually sort of well-known to be very bad at this.”

Families of victims of social media hurt gathered exterior an LA courthouse during Zuckerberg’s testimony. BACKGRID

The Los Angeles jury trial is seen as a key bellwether for the trade. The end result might resolve how related trials round the nation are determined for years to come. The trial is anticipated to stretch into March.

As The Post completely reported earlier this month, a ballot organized by the Tech Oversight Project discovered that 86% of Americans need Meta and Google held accountable for his or her position in a social media habit disaster that has fueled anxiety, consuming problems and even suicide among youngsters.

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