Meta allegedly hid research showing Facebook could harm mental health
What's the story
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, allegedly suppressed internal research that showed its platforms could harm users' mental health. The claim comes from unredacted filings in a class-action lawsuit filed by US school districts against Meta and other social media companies. The research project, codenamed Project Mercury, was conducted in 2020 with survey firm Nielsen to assess the impact of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' mental well-being.
Study results
Findings and Meta's response
The internal documents from Meta revealed that users who stopped using Facebook for a week reported lower levels of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social comparison. However, instead of publishing these findings or conducting further research, Meta halted the study. The company claimed that the negative study results were influenced by the "existing media narrative" about it.
Disputed validity
Internal disagreement over Project Mercury's conclusions
Despite the company's public stance, some employees privately assured Nick Clegg, Meta's then-head of global public policy, that the conclusions from Project Mercury were valid. One unnamed researcher even wrote that the Nielsen study does show causal impact on social comparison. Another employee expressed concern that not disclosing negative findings would be similar to the tobacco industry conducting research and knowing cigarettes were harmful but withholding that information.
Congressional testimony
Meta's contradictory statements to Congress
Despite its own research establishing a causal link between its products and negative mental health effects, Meta told Congress that it could not quantify whether its products were harmful to teenage girls. Responding to the allegations, Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the study was halted due to flawed methodology and emphasized the company's commitment to improving product safety over the years.
Legal allegations
Class-action lawsuit accuses Meta of concealing product risks
The accusation of Meta hiding evidence of social media harm is one among many in a recent filing by Motley Rice. The law firm is suing Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat on behalf of school districts across the country. The plaintiffs broadly allege that these companies have deliberately concealed the risks associated with their products from users, parents, and teachers.
Additional claims
Other allegations against social media companies
Other allegations against Meta and its counterparts include tacitly encouraging children under 13 to use their platforms, failing to tackle child sexual abuse content, and trying to increase social media usage among teenagers during school hours. The plaintiffs also claimed that these platforms tried to pay child-focused organizations for public endorsements of their products' safety.