Recent revelations from newly unsealed United States (US) court documents have intensified scrutiny on meta-platforms, as the documents suggest the tech giant paused internal investigation after discovering causal links between Facebook and Instagram usage and negative mental health outcomes among users.
According to the documents, the concerns arise from a 2020 internal project known as “Project Mercury,” in which scientists at Meta (META.O) partnered with survey firm Nielsen to evaluate the effects of users deactivating the two platforms.
Meta’s own papers reportedly showed that “people who stopped using Facebook for a week reported lower feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social comparison.”
However, instead of publishing the findings or commissioning additional research, Meta reportedly discontinued the investigation, internally blaming the “existing media narrative” for the negative results.
Despite this public dismissal, staff reportedly assured Nick Clegg, then head of global public policy at Meta, that the results were strong.
According to Reuters, one anonymous researcher wrote that “the Nielsen study shows a causal impact on social comparison (unhappy face emoji),” while another compared hiding such findings to the tobacco industry “who did research and knew cigarettes were bad and then kept that information to themselves.”
The lawsuit further claims that despite having documented evidence of harm, Meta told the US Congress that it could not determine whether its platforms were harmful to teenage girls.
On Saturday, Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the study was suspended due to flawed methodology and insisted that the company has made sustained efforts to improve user safety.
“The full record will show that for more than a decade we have listened to parents, investigated the most important issues and made real changes to protect teenagers,” he said.
Allegations against social media giants
The claims are part of a wide-ranging filing filed late Friday by Motley Rice, the law firm representing U.S. school districts suing Meta, Google (GOOGL.O), TikTok and Snapchat (SNAP.N).
The plaintiffs allege that the companies knowingly concealed the risks associated with their platforms from parents, teachers and young users.
TikTok, Google and Snapchat did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The accusations against Meta include:
1. Design youth safety features to be ineffective and block tests that could hinder growth.
2. Require 17 sex trafficking attempts before offenders are eliminated, described internally as “a very, very, very high attack threshold.”
3. Know that optimizing for teen engagement increases exposure to harmful content, but continue anyway.
4. Delay efforts to curb child predators due to growth problems and urge security personnel to justify inaction.
5. Mark Zuckerberg, in a 2021 text message, allegedly stated that child safety was not his top priority compared to “building the metaverse,” while ignoring Nick Clegg’s repeated requests for funding.
Meta’s Stone disputed the claims, saying the lawsuit mischaracterizes its policies and efforts.
“We strongly disagree with these allegations, which are based on cherry-picked quotes and misinformed opinions,” he said, adding that Meta now immediately removes accounts flagged for sex trafficking.
The internal documents referred to in the file remain sealed. Meta has filed a motion to quash them, arguing that the plaintiffs’ unseal request is too broad.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Jan. 26 in Northern California District Court.
(Reuters)
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