Meta has suspended internal research following preliminary findings indicating that Facebook may negatively impact users’ mental health. Newly unsealed court documents from a lawsuit filed by several school districts reveal that the company ceased its work upon discovering evidence suggesting that individuals who deactivated Facebook reported feeling less anxious and less depressed.
The research, known as Project Mercury, commenced in 2020, involving collaboration between Meta scientists and the survey group Nielsen. The study aimed to observe the effects on users who deactivated their accounts for a week. According to the documents, the findings were significant, with participants reporting decreased feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social comparison.
Instead of publishing these results or continuing the research, the filings allege that Meta terminated the project and later dismissed the findings as being “tainted by the existing media narrative.” Some employees reportedly acknowledged the validity of the results. One unnamed researcher noted, “The Nielsen study does show causal impact on social comparison,” expressing concern with an unhappy face emoji. Another staff member drew a parallel to the tobacco industry, suggesting a deliberate concealment of harmful research.
The lawsuit further contends that despite the evidence gathered by its own team, Meta informed Congress that it had no means to measure whether its platforms harmed teenage girls. Attorneys for the school districts assert that this behavior illustrates a failure by Meta to disclose known risks to parents, educators, and young users.
In response to inquiries, Meta spokesman Andy Stone stated that the study was halted due to “flawed methodology,” asserting that the company has made significant changes to protect teenagers. He emphasized that Meta has invested over a decade in listening to parents and enhancing its safety tools. Stone later criticized the lawsuit, claiming it relied on “cherry-picked quotes and misinformed opinions.”
The allegations are part of a broader case filed by the law firm Motley Rice, which is suing Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat on behalf of school districts nationwide. The lawsuit accuses these companies of ignoring the potential dangers their platforms pose to children. TikTok, Google, and Snapchat have yet to respond to this filing.
Additionally, the legal complaint includes accusations that social media companies encouraged underage use, failed to curb harmful content, and attempted to persuade child-focused groups to publicly defend their platforms. Meta has requested the court to strike the documents from the record, with a hearing scheduled for January 26 in federal court in Northern California.
