Court Filings Allege Meta Hid Evidence of Social Media Harm

AFP/APP

Washington: Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, allegedly shut down internal research showing that its platforms could harm users’ mental health, according to un-redacted court filings in a class-action lawsuit by US school districts.

The filings detail a 2020 research project, “Project Mercury,” in which Meta scientists worked with Nielsen to study the effects of temporarily deactivating Facebook and Instagram. The study reportedly found that participants who stopped using the platforms for a week experienced reduced depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social comparison.

Rather than publishing the findings or continuing research, the documents claim, Meta halted the project, citing the “existing media narrative” as a reason to dismiss the results. Internally, however, staff reportedly confirmed the study’s conclusions and expressed concerns that keeping the data secret resembled the tobacco industry’s concealment of harmful effects.

Despite evidence suggesting causal links between its platforms and negative mental health outcomes for teens, Meta has told Congress it could not quantify potential harms to teenage users.

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In a statement, Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the study was stopped due to methodological flaws and defended the company’s work to protect young users. “The full record will show that for over a decade, we have listened to parents, researched issues that matter most, and made real changes to protect teens,” he said.

The allegations are part of a broader lawsuit filed by Motley Rice law firm against Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat on behalf of school districts nationwide. Plaintiffs claim the platforms knowingly hid risks from users, parents, and educators while encouraging underage use and failing to address child sexual abuse content.

Specific claims against Meta include intentionally designing teen safety features to be ineffective, stalling efforts to prevent child predators, setting extremely high thresholds for removing accounts involved in sex trafficking, and continuing to optimize products for teen engagement despite exposing them to harmful content.

The filings also cite internal texts from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in which he reportedly prioritized other business objectives over child safety. Meta disputes the allegations, describing them as “cherry-picked quotes and misinformed opinions” and defending its teen safety measures as effective.

A hearing on the filings is scheduled for January 26 in the Northern California District Court.