Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in Wednesday court testimony that he reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook to discuss the “wellbeing of teens and kids.”

The comments came after defense lawyer Paul Schmidt pointed to an email exchange between Zuckerberg and Cook from February 2018. “I thought there were opportunities that our company and Apple could be doing and I wanted to talk to Tim about that,” Zuckerberg said.

The email exchange was part of a broader portrayal by the defense attorney to show jury members that Zuckerberg was more proactive about the safety of young Instagram users than what was previously presented to court by the opposing counsel, going so far as to reach out to a corporate rival.

“I care about the wellbeing of teens and kids who are using our services,” Zuckerberg said when characterizing some of the content of the email.

Zuckerberg testified during a landmark trial in Los Angeles Superior Court over the question of social media and safety, which is being likened to the industry’s “Big Tobacco” moment.

Part of the trial focused on the alleged harms of certain digital filters promoting cosmetic surgery, which Instagram chief Adam Mosseri previously testified about earlier in the trial.

Zuckerberg said the company consulted with various stakeholders about the use of beauty filters on Instagram, but he did not specifically name them. The plaintiff’s lawyer questioned Zuckerberg about messages showing he lifted the ban because it was “paternalistic.”

“It sounds like something I would say and something I feel,” Zuckerberg replied. “It feels a little overbearing.”

Zuckerberg was pressed about the decision to allow the feature when the company had guidance from experts that the beauty filters had negative effects, particularly on young girls.

He was specifically asked about one study by the University of Chicago in which 18 experts said that beauty filters as a feature cause harm to teenage girls.

Zuckerberg, who noted that he believed this was referring to so-called cosmetic surgery filters, said he saw that feedback and discussed with the team, and it came down to free expression. “I genuinely want to err on the side of giving people the ability to express themselves,” Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg echoed Mosseri’s previous sentiments shared in court that Meta ultimately decided to lift a temporary ban on the plastic surgery digital filters without promoting them to other users.

Defense attorney Mark Lanier noted that Facebook’s vice president of product design and responsible innovation, Margaret Stewart, said in an email that while she would support Zuckerberg’s ultimate decision, she said she didn’t believe it was the “right call given the risks.” Stewart mentioned in her message that she dealt with a personal family situation that she acknowledged made her biased, but gives her “first-hand knowledge” of the alleged harms.

Zuckerberg said that many Meta employees disagree with the company’s decisions, which is something the company encourages, and while he understood Stewart’s perspective, there was ultimately not enough causal evidence to support the assertion of harms by the outside experts.

When Lanier asked if Zuckerberg has a college degree that would indicate expertise in causation, the Meta chief said, “I don’t have a college degree in anything.”

“I agree I do not know the legal understanding of causation, but I think I have a pretty good idea of how statistics work,” Zuckerberg said.

The trial, which began in late January, centers on a young woman who alleged that she became addicted to social media and video streaming apps like Instagram and YouTube.

The Facebook founder pushed back against the notion that the social media company made increasing time spent on Instagram a company goal.

Zuckerberg was addressing a 2015 email thread in which he appeared to highlight improving engagement metrics as an urgent matter for the company.

While the email chain may have contained the words “company goals,” Zuckerberg said the comments could have been an aspiration, and asserted that Meta doesn’t have those objectives.

Lawyers later brought up evidence from Mosseri, which included goals to actively up user daily engagement time on the platform to 40 minutes in 2023 and to 46 minutes in 2026.

Zuckerberg said the company uses milestones internally to measure against competitors and “deliver the results we want to see.” He asserted that the company is building services to help people connect.

Lawyers also raised questions over whether the company has taken adequate steps to remove underage users from its platform.

Zuckerberg said during his testimony that some users lie about their age when signing up for Instagram, which requires users to be 13 or older. Lawyers also shared a document which stated that 4 million kids under 13 used the platform in the U.S.

The Facebook founder said the company removes all underage users it identifies and includes terms about age usage during the sign-up process.

“You expect a 9-year-old to read all of the fine print,” a lawyer for the plaintiff questioned. “That’s your basis for swearing under oath that children under 13 are not allowed?”

Instagram did not begin requiring birthdays at sign-up until late 2019. At several times, Zuckerberg brought up his belief that age verification is better suited for companies like Apple and Google, which maintain mobile operating systems and app stores.

Zuckerberg later responded to questions about documents in which the company reported a higher retention rate on its platform for users who join as tweens. He said that lawyers were “mischaracterizing” his words and that Meta doesn’t always launch products in development such as an Instagram app for users under 13.

During Wednesday’s session, Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl threatened to hold anyone using AI smart glasses during Zuckerberg’s testimony in contempt of court.

“If you have done that, you must delete that, or you will be held in contempt of the court,” the judge said. “This is very serious.”

Members of the team escorting Zuckerberg into the building just before noon ET were pictured wearing the Meta Ray-Ban artificial intelligence glasses.

Recording is not allowed in the courtroom.

Lawyers also questioned whether Zuckerberg previously lied about the board’s inability to fire him.

“If the board wants to fire me, I could elect a new board and reinstate myself,” he said, in response to remarks he previously made on Joe Rogan’s podcast.

During his interview with the podcaster last year, Zuckerberg had said he wasn’t worried about losing his job because he holds voting power.

Zuckerberg told the courtroom he is “very bad” at media.

Lawyers representing the plaintiff contend that Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap misled the public about the safety of their services and knew that the design of their apps and certain features caused mental health harms to young users.

Snap and TikTok settled with the plaintiff involved in the case before the trial began.

Meta has denied the allegations and a spokesperson told CNBC in a statement that “the question for the jury in Los Angeles is whether Instagram was a substantial factor in the plaintiff’s mental health struggles.”

Last week, Instagram’s Mosseri testified that while he thinks there can be problematic usage of social media, he doesn’t believe that’s the same as clinical addiction.

“So it’s a personal thing, but yeah, I do think it’s possible to use Instagram more than you feel good about,” Mosseri said. “Too much is relative, it’s personal.”

The Los Angeles trial is one of several major court cases taking place this year that experts have described as the social media industry’s “Big Tobacco” moment because of the alleged harm caused by their products and the related company efforts to deceive the public.

Meta is also involved in a major trial in New Mexico, in which the state’s attorney general, Raúl Torrez, alleges that the social media giant failed to ensure that children and young users are safe from online predators.

“What we are really alleging is that Meta has created a dangerous product, a product that enables not only the targeting of children, but the exploitation of children in virtual spaces and in the real world,” Torrez told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week when opening arguments for the trial began.

This summer, another social media trial is expected to begin in the Northern District of California. That trial also involves companies like Meta and YouTube and allegations that their respective apps contain flaws that foster detrimental mental health issues in young users.

— CNBC’s Jennifer Elias contributed reporting.

WATCH: New Mexico AG Raul Torrez talks about his case against Meta

Intel, which now counts the U.S. government as its largest shareholder, said on Tuesday that it will match the Trump administration’s $1,000 payout for children of eligible U.S. employees.

The matching funds, which is a benefit for Intel staff, mark the latest sign of a close working relationship between the Trump administration and Intel after the government took a 10% stake in the chipmaker last year through an $8.9 billion investment.

The 530A program, often called “Trump Accounts,” passed as part of the administration’s “big beautiful bill,” and is intended to jumpstart wealth-building opportunities for children, allowing their investments to grow and compound for years before they become adults.

“America’s future technologists will define the next era of innovation, and the Trump Accounts program helps give them an early financial foundation,” Lip-Bu Tan, Intel CEO, said in Tuesday’s statement.

Intel is joining a list of other companies that say they will match the federal $1,000 contribution. They include SoFi, Charter Communications, BNY, BlackRock, Investment Company Institute, Robinhood and Charles Schwab.

The program allows parents to open tax-advantaged investment accounts for children under 18, with kids born between 2025 and 2028 getting seed funding of $1,000 from the government. Employer contributions up to $2,500 don’t count as taxable income. Parents will be able to open the accounts in July.

In December, Dell founder Michael Dell said he would donate $6.25 billion to the program, to seed some Trump Accounts for children born before the Jan. 1 cutoff with $250.

WATCH: Intel still a massive turnaround story

Near expansive aisles of home improvement supplies, some of Lowe’s tiniest shoppers worked this Saturday on do-it-yourself projects of their own.

The children, some as young as 3, sported miniature versions of the retailer’s signature red aprons while hammering together washing machine-themed piggy banks at the retailer’s kids’ workshop at the company’s store in North Bergen, New Jersey.

Lowe’s is trying to attract a younger audience — though it hasn’t suddenly found an untapped market for home improvement spending from preschoolers. When the retailer this month relaunched its Kids Club program and began handing out lollipops to children who visit its stores, it was really a step in a strategy to win more business from younger parents, especially those who aren’t yet homeowners.

It’s not just young parents, though. Lowe’s wants to reel in new shoppers from the Gen Z and millennial generations, which are buying homes later than their parents did. Other moves to win over the cohorts include adding a wider array of merchandise through its third-party marketplace and tapping into a network of influencers on social media.

The company wants to attract more frequent store and website visits as the U.S. housing market remains sluggish, consumers put off homebuying until later in life and higher prices of everyday expenses cause more people to postpone big purchases and projects like kitchen renovations. It is adding some of the features through My Lowe’s Rewards, a customer loyalty program for DIY shoppers, which the company launched two years ago and which has grown to over 30 million members.

“What we’ve been challenged with from a marketing perspective and a total brand perspective is how to drive relevancy among consumers who aren’t in the homeowner category or who desire to be in the homeowner category, but aren’t financially able to do that,” Lowe’s Chief Marketing Officer Jen Wilson said.

She said that has encouraged the home improvement retailer to think about “driving relevancy in new ways,” including adding more events and seeking out surprising or buzzy merchandise that may catch the attention of a potential shopper on TikTok.

That’s where kids fit in, too. She said one of Lowe’s surprising findings from market research was the strong influence of children in shaping where their parents choose to shop, especially for millennial parents.

Putting off projects

As home prices and borrowing costs have risen, more Americans have postponed homeownership, a life stage that tends to nudge people toward springing for purchases of paint or hardware, or hiring home improvement professionals like electricians or plumbers. The median age of a first-time homebuyer is now 40 years old, an all-time high, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Home improvement sales have dropped off since the years of the Covid pandemic. Lowe’s expects its total sales to be $86 billion this year. That would represent an increase from $83.7 billion a year ago, but it would be lower than each of the four years before that. Lowe’s also expects comparable sales, an industry metric that excludes one-time factors like store openings and closures, to be flat compared to a year ago.

Compared to its rival Home Depot, Lowe’s relies more heavily on DIY shoppers. About 70% of its sales come from those consumers, with the remainder from home professionals like contractors, roofers and electricians that homeowners typically hire, according to the company.

Home Depot, on the other hand, has historically drawn about half of its sales from home pros and half from DIY shoppers.

Executives from both Lowe’s and Home Depot have said they have seen lower demand for big-ticket items and pricier projects, which they have chalked up to slower housing turnover and economic uncertainty. Housing turnover typically encourages projects, as homeowners spruce up their homes before a sale or fix it up when moving in.

In the meantime, both companies have focused on drawing more pros, which tend to be bigger and more reliable spenders. Home Depot in 2024 acquired SRS Distribution, a Texas-based company that sells supplies to professionals in the landscaping, pool and roofing businesses, in the largest acquisition in its history at $18.25 billion. It’s bought other companies, too, including building-products distributor GMS last year.

Lowe’s made two of its own pro-focused acquisitions last year. It bought Foundation Building Materials, a distributor of drywall, insulation and other interior building products for large residential and commercial professionals, and Artisan Design Group, which provides design services and installation of flooring, cabinets and countertops for homebuilders and property managers.

In the coming year, however, Lowe’s larger reliance on do-it-yourself shoppers may give the company an edge, said Chuck Grom, a retail analyst for Gordon Haskett Equity Research. He upgraded the company’s stock earlier this month from a hold to a buy rating because of signs of an improving housing backdrop.

While the housing market is still challenged, furniture sales have picked up in recent quarters and more consumers appear to be getting used to higher borrowing costs as the “new normal,” Grom said. About 35% of consumers said in the equity research firm’s most recent quarterly survey that they would be willing to buy a home at a 5.5% to 6% mortgage rate. That’s up from about 25% in the third-quarter survey.

The average 30-year mortgage rate has dipped slightly in recent months and was around 6.2% last week.

Those are promising signs that consumers may dip their toes back into more DIY projects, even if recovery is gradual, he said.

Shares of Lowe’s have reflected some optimism about the coming year. Its stock has lagged the S&P 500’s performance over the past year and last five years, but its stock is up about 22% in the past six months. That’s compared to Home Depot, which has seen shares rise about 4% during the same period.

Home Depot has also made moves of its own to attract customers, including launching a new platform for creators late last year and creating a new hub on its website with advice and ideas for new homeowners. It has also sped up customer deliveries. Over half of its deliveries are now same-day or next-day, more than triple the number in 2022, the company said at its investor day in December. And it also offers free kids’ workshops at its stores.

Yet as the home improvement retailers try to win a limited pool of business, they’re also competing with independent and specialty home improvement shops, privately held Ace Hardware and retail giants like Walmart and Amazon, which carry some of the same merchandise.

Though they may not yield immediate dividends, events will play a role in that competition moving forward. For families who came to Lowe’s kids’ workshop at the North Bergen store on Saturday, the activity was a welcome way to spend a snowy day and get their kids to work with their hands.

Ivette Crisostomo, a mom from Fort Lee, New Jersey, brought her 3-year-old son, Kai, to the workshop. She coordinated with two friends, who also brought their kids.

“This is like a set playdate for everyone,” she said. “It builds his confidence, too.”

As the event wrapped, it illustrated the goal of Lowe’s strategy. Many parents browsed the aisles after finishing the project. Crisostomo said she sometimes winds up shopping, too.

“My eyes wander and if I do need something, I’ll come to Lowe’s,” she said.

Michael and Susan Dell announced Tuesday that they have committed $6.25 billion to fund investment accounts for some 25 million American children.

The couple’s donation will be the largest ever devoted to American children, according to Invest America, a nonprofit advocacy group partnered with the Dells.

“It’s designed to help families feel supported from the start and encourage them to keep saving as their children grow,” Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, told CNBC in an interview. “We know that when children have accounts like this, they’re much more likely to graduate from high school, from college, buy a home, start a business and less likely to be incarcerated.”

The Dells’ commitment goes hand in hand with a new federal government program that allows parents to open tax-advantaged investment accounts for children under 18 with Social Security numbers. Under the federal program, U.S. citizens born from the beginning of 2025 through 2028 will receive a federal grant of $1,000 to seed those so-called Trump accounts. Parents will be able to open and contribute to these accounts starting on July 4, 2026, with IRS guidance yet to be issued.

The Dells have committed to seed Trump accounts with $250 for children who are 10 or under who were born before Jan. 1, 2025. According to Invest America, the pledged funds will cover 25 million children age 10 and under in ZIP codes with a median income of $150,000 or less.

“We want to help the children that weren’t part of the government program,” Dell said.

Dell said he first became interested in seeding investment accounts for children after hearing the idea from hedge fund manager Brad Gerstner around 2021. Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital, later founded Invest America, which advocated for the program to get included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Trump Accounts can only be used to invest in low-cost diversified funds that track a U.S. stock index. Gerstner said these accounts and grants give American children the chance to benefit from U.S. stock market growth at an early age.

Gerstner said it will take more than the $250 from the Dells or $1,000 federal grants for the accounts to compound to a substantial sum. However, Gerstner said the seed money encourages parents to add their own funds.

He added that the legislation makes it far easier for corporations and philanthropists to make charitable contributions on a large scale. Dell Technologies has pledged to match the $1,000 grants by the U.S. Treasury deposited into accounts for new children of employees.

Parents only have to open a Trump account to automatically receive a grant from the Dells.

“It would have been impractical, or maybe even impossible, to impact this many kids in this way without such a program,” Dell said.

There are few precedents for the Dells’ pledge. The foundation of shoe billionaire Harold Alfond, who died in 2007, issues $500 educational grants toward every child born in Maine.

While Trump accounts are easy to seed, they lack some of the tax advantages of other accounts such as 529 accounts or Roth IRAs. Withdrawals are not allowed until the child turns 18, at which point the assets are rolled into an IRA and withdrawals are taxed.

Dell said he has spoken to other major philanthropists and is optimistic that others will also pledge funds to these investment accounts.

“What we hope is that every child sees a future worth saving for it,” he said. “You think about the compounding effect of a program like this in 10, 20, 30 years on millions of children. That’s what gets us excited.”

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify where the money will come from when parents open a Trump account.

A young girl named Gabby, alongside her menagerie of animated cat friends, is making the leap from streaming to the big screen.

Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” is the latest kid’s TV show to head to the box office, following in the footsteps of Paramount’s Paw Patrol and SpongeBob SquarePants franchises.

“We felt like the franchise had gotten to the point where there was enough fandom to justify a theatrical event, and we wanted to expand the world,” Margie Cohn, president of DreamWorks Animation, told CNBC.

Children’s programming has become an increasingly important piece of the media landscape in recent years. As linear TV has given way to streaming, studios are looking for ways to drive and sustain subscriber growth. For “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” establishing a theatrical presence increases awareness of the brand, stirs up fresh excitement from existing fans and spurs new opportunities for products in the retail market.

“Gabby’s Dollhouse,” created by “Blue’s Clues” veterans Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey, launched on Netflix in 2021. It’s already run for 11 seasons, and a 12th is on due out in November. Each season has six to 10 episodes, about 25 minutes each.

It’s been the most-viewed streaming original series for kids this year, according to Nielsen.

Each episode begins with a live-action Gabby, played by Laila Lockhart Kraner, as she unboxes a miniature package that sparks an adventure in her magical dollhouse. She dons her cat-ear headband, shrinks down to become an animated character and joins her cat friends, called Gabby’s cats. Like a lot of preschool shows, Gabby pauses to ask the audience questions and invite them to play along.

Those elements all appear in the full-length feature film, which arrived in theaters Friday. It melds animation and live-action, but at a bigger scale.

Cohn said the goal was to create a theatrical experience, akin to a “‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ for little kids.’ Invite them to sing, dance, clap.”

“Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” debuts at a time when the movie calendar has limited family-friendly options. The most recent major releases in this genre were Disney’s “Freakier Friday” and Universal’s “The Bad Guys 2,” both of which were released in early August.

While there has been a steady stream of family-friendly fare in recent years, it comes after a considerable dry spell caused by the pandemic and dual Hollywood labor strikes shutting down production. At the same time, consumers’ habits shifted as streaming services grew in popularity and studios shortened the time it took for movies released in cinemas to reach the home market.

But younger viewers are some of the most engaged, and a primary driver to get families out to the theater.

Kids are some of the most fervent streaming users, too, as they tend to watch the same content over and over again, leading to high engagement. That’s why kid-friendly shows have offer a unique value proposition for studios even as traditional linear television and the theatrical landscape has become less reliable.

Presenting their favorite characters in more places can mean spreading the wealth and ultimately fueling their appetites for more.

“One need only look at the big screen-small screen synergies that were created by ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ to see how ‘Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie’ could similarly make the leap from a small screen 2021 series into a big screen cinematic event in 2025,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.