Zuckerberg to Testify as Landmark Addiction Trial Begins

WSJ Minute Briefing

The Wall Street Journal

Business News, News

4.1 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2026

⏱️ 3 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Plus: Europe dials up the pressure on big tech. And the IMF issues a warning to Japan, urging it to keep raising rates and avoid tax cuts. Luke Vargas hosts. Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Sharpen your perspective on the future of technology and business in 2026.
0:04.9	Take a look inside the new edition of ThoughtWorks Looking Glass and discover how business leaders can prepare their organizations for the future and make informed decisions that have a lasting impact.
0:15.3	Find out more at ThoughtWorks.com slash looking glass.
0:27.6	Here is your morning brief for Wednesday, February 18th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal.
0:34.2	Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify today in a landmark trial on social media addiction.
0:37.7	It's the first of several bellwether trials planned in California and revolves around a young woman's claim that platforms like META's Instagram foster addiction
0:43.0	in adolescence. Meta says that it's consistently put teen safety ahead of growth, and the
0:48.8	company's lawyers say its products aren't addictive and aren't responsible for a plaintiff's mental
0:53.2	health issues.
0:57.5	Meanwhile, Europe is dialing up the pressure on big tech.
1:02.4	The Spanish government this week asked prosecutors to investigate several social media platforms for potential crimes against minors relating to AI-generated images.
1:07.2	Ireland is now probing X.
1:09.3	The UK's prime minister is cracking down on chatbots, and the EU wants TikTok to ditch its infinite scroll.
1:16.3	The companies have denied any wrongdoing. And Japan's finance minister is defending the country's economic plans after the IMF urged it not to cut taxes and to refrain from fiscal loosening. That warning follows
1:29.1	Prime Minister Sinai, Takeichi's pledge to suspend sales tax on food and beverages to address
1:34.4	affordability concerns. Japan's Niki stock index ended the day higher, with most other
1:40.5	Asian markets closed for the Lunar New Year. European stocks are gaining in midday trading
1:45.6	and U.S. stock futures are pointing to a higher open. And we've got a lot more coverage of the
1:51.3	day's news on the WSJ's Wants News podcast. You can add it to your playlist on your smart speaker
1:56.0	or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees,
2:02.3	but I don't really need it.
2:04.6	Infliction is killing me.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Wall Street Journal, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Wall Street Journal and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.