A grieving New York mom whose15-year-old son shot himselfafter being targeted in a Facebook “sextortion” scam blasted Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a “soulless psychopath” ashe arrived to testify in a landmark social media addiction trialin Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Mary Rodee watched as the tech billionaire entered Los Angeles Superior Court, where he is taking the stand in the first of roughly 1,500 lawsuits accusing social media giants of designing addictive platforms that harm children.
Rodee’s son died in March 2021 after he was extorted by someone he met on Facebook Messenger, she said.
She described Zuckerberg to The Post as a “soulless psychopath” and a “negligent criminal” over what she says was the company’s failure to protect her child.
“I see these kids on a spiraling path where their parents are watching social media take their child away,” Rodee told The Post.
“Mine was just like in an instant.”
Rodee said her son fatally shot himself after being threatened by someone who demanded money and warned that explicit images would be shared.
Nearly a dozen parents gathered outside Los Angeles Superior Court before Zuckerberg’s arrival on Wednesday holding framed photographs of children they say were harmed — or died — after using social media.
Security around the Meta chief was tight.
An advance team worked closely with the Department of Homeland Security to plan Zuckerberg’s arrival, The Post has learned. He was flanked by a security detail that stuck close as he moved through the courthouse.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
