Court Filing Accuses Meta of Burying Mental Health Study

A federal court filing in a lawsuit brought by multiple U.S. school districts has accused Meta Platforms of burying internal research that linked reduced Facebook use to improved mental health outcomes. The allegations, detailed in unredacted documents from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claim the company halted a 2019 study called Project Mercury after early results showed participants who deactivated their accounts for a week reported lower levels of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social comparison.

The multidistrict lawsuit targets Meta, along with Snapchat, TikTok, and Alphabet's YouTube, asserting that these platforms knowingly contribute to mental health harms and addiction among children and teenagers. According to the filing, Project Mercury aimed to examine the effects of Meta's apps on users' well-being, polarization, news consumption, and social interactions. Researchers collaborated with survey firm Nielsen to conduct deactivation experiments on a random sample of users. Initial pilot tests indicated causal benefits from pausing use, prompting internal disappointment at Meta. Rather than publish the findings or expand the...