Meta has discontinued research that proved the negative impact of Facebook on mental health
Meta suspended its own research on the impact of Facebook on users' mental health after signs of negative effects appeared.
As reported by ThePublic.info, citing materials from Reuters, preliminary results showed that abstaining from using Facebook for a week improved people's emotional state and reduced levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness.
The study was conducted in 2020 under the code name Project Mercury — in collaboration with Nielsen. Participants temporarily "deactivated" Facebook, which led to a noticeable improvement in mental health. Despite these results, Meta discontinued the project and did not publish the findings, citing "negative media coverage".
In internal discussions, company employees compared the situation to the tobacco industry practice, which knew about the harm of its products but concealed it. Documents also indicate that Meta had evidence of a causal link between Facebook use and worsening mental health among teenagers — yet the company told Congress it could not assess this.
A lawsuit filed by U.S. school districts through the law firm Motley Rice covers not only Meta but also TikTok, Google, and Snapchat. The plaintiffs believe that social networks concealed risks for children, encouraged platform use by children under 13, did not block content with sexual violence, and attempted to influence children's organizations to protect their image.
Meta denies all allegations, calling them "selective quotes and biased conclusions". The company insists that safety systems for teenagers are effective.
