Revealed: Meta Concealed Research Showing Social Media's Causal Link to Mental Health Harm, Court Documents Allege

Meta allegedly suppressed internal research demonstrating that its platforms harmed users' mental health, according to unredacted court documents from a class action lawsuit filed by US school districts against several social media companies.

In 2020, Meta researchers conducted "Project Mercury," collaborating with Nielsen to evaluate the effects of temporary platform deactivation. The study revealed that participants who abstained from Facebook for a week reported decreased feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social comparison.

Rather than publishing these concerning findings or pursuing additional investigation, Meta reportedly terminated the research project, claiming internally that the negative results were contaminated by existing media narratives about the company.

Internal communications show researchers privately confirmed to Nick Clegg, then Meta's global public policy head, that the study demonstrated "causal impact on social comparison." One staff member expressed concern that concealing these findings resembled the tobacco industry's suppression of cigarette health risks.

Despite possessing evidence linking its products to mental health issues, Meta allegedly informed Congress it couldn't quantify whether its platforms harmed teenage girls.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone defended the company, stating the study was discontinued due to methodological flaws and that Meta has consistently worked to enhance platform safety.

These allegations emerged in a recent filing by law firm Motley Rice, representing school districts nationwide in litigation against Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat. The plaintiffs broadly contend these companies deliberately concealed known product risks from users, parents, and educators.

Additional allegations against Meta include intentionally designing ineffective youth safety features, maintaining extremely high thresholds before removing sex traffickers from its platforms, optimizing for engagement despite recognizing this served users harmful content, and delaying child predator prevention measures due to growth concerns.

The filing also cites a 2021 text message from Mark Zuckerberg indicating child safety wasn't his primary focus as he was "more focused on building the metaverse." Zuckerberg allegedly rejected or ignored requests to increase funding for child safety initiatives.

Meta strongly disputes these characterizations, with Stone arguing the lawsuit misrepresents the company's safety efforts and relies on "cherry-picked quotes and misinformed opinions."

The underlying Meta documents referenced in the filing remain private, with Meta filing a motion to strike. Stone clarified their objection concerns the broad scope of what plaintiffs seek to unseal rather than opposing unsealing entirely.

A hearing regarding this filing is scheduled for January 26 in Northern California District Court.