Court Filings Claim Meta Hid Harms to Teens, U.S. Court Docs Show
Court Filings Claim Meta Hid Harms to Teens, U.S. Court Docs Show
New, unsealed court filings allege Meta downplayed teen safety harms, hid negative findings, and misled lawmakers for years, fueling fresh questions about platform safety.
In unsealed court filings, a trajectory of internal research is laid bare: Meta reportedly halted a long-running study that aimed to measure how Facebook and Instagram might affect users' mental health, even after finding causal links to negative feelings. The project, code-named “Project Mercury,” involved collaboration with Nielsen to gauge what happens when people deactivate the apps. When the data pointed to lower depression, anxiety, loneliness, and reduced social comparison among users who reduced time on the platforms, internal teams flagged the significance of these findings. Yet the filings suggest leadership chose not to publish the results and instead labeled the negative findings as tainted by a broader media narrative around the company.
Privately, staff indicated the Nielsen study did show a causal impact on social comparison, with some researchers worried that keeping quiet about such results would echo the tobacco industry’s approach to known harms. At the same time, public statements to Congress suggested Meta lacked the ability to quantify harm to teenage girls, creating a disconnect between internal observations and official testimony. The filings depict a company that allegedly prioritized growth metrics over clear safety messaging for years.
Meta has defended its safety efforts, saying the stopped study was flawed in its methodology and that the company has since listened to parents and made changes to protect teens. The broader filings accuse Meta and other platforms of downplaying risks and misleading the public about what is known regarding children’s well-being online. The documents are part of a larger class-action brought by U.S. school districts and involve a wider examination of social media’s effects on young users. As lawmakers and regulators scrutinize how platforms handle safety, the disclosures are likely to fuel ongoing debates about what responsibilities tech firms owe to young users.
Cover image source: Court Filings Allege Meta Downplayed Risks to Children and Misled the Public 🔗
