Legal documents in the U.S. assert that Meta discontinued internal studies that indicated a connection between Facebook usage and negative mental health effects.
The documents were filed in a lawsuit initiated by school districts against Meta and other social media companies.
The filing details a 2020 initiative called Project Mercury, which involved Meta’s researchers and the survey company Nielsen, measuring the impact of users deactivating Facebook for a week. Internal papers indicated that “individuals who stopped using Facebook for one week reported decreased levels of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social comparison.”
According to the filing, Meta ended the project rather than publishing the findings. The documents claim that Meta internally suggested that the results were affected by the prevailing media narrative concerning the company.
One researcher mentioned, “The Nielsen study does show causal impact on social comparison,” and included an unhappy face emoji. Another employee drew a parallel between remaining silent and the tobacco industry, stating it would be akin to “conducting studies and knowing that cigarettes were harmful, then keeping that information hidden.”
The filing contends that Meta informed Congress it had “no ability to quantify whether its products were harmful to teenage girls,” despite possessing the internal findings. It also mentions that similar investigations focusing on Instagram were stopped.
In response, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone stated that the study was terminated due to methodological issues, emphasizing, “The complete record will demonstrate that for over ten years we have heeded parents’ concerns, researched critical issues, and implemented meaningful changes to safeguard teens.”
These allegations are part of a broader lawsuit filed by the law firm Motley Rice, which also includes Google, TikTok, and Snapchat on behalf of school districts in the U.S. The plaintiffs claim that these companies concealed the dangers of their products from users, parents, and educators.
The filing alleges that the companies encouraged children under 13 to engage with their platforms, failed to tackle child sexual abuse material, and sought to boost student usage during school hours.
It also asserts that these companies endeavored to collaborate with child-focused organizations to promote public messages regarding product safety.
TikTok, Google, and Snapchat have not responded to requests for comments. A court hearing on this matter is slated for January 26 in a district court in northern California.