Overview
- Court documents say Meta’s 2020 Project Mercury found users who paused Facebook and Instagram for a week reported less depression, anxiety, loneliness and social-comparison pressure.
- Instead of publishing the results, Meta ended the research, while the company says it halted a flawed pilot and rejects the portrayal of its actions.
- The filings are part of a class action by U.S. school districts targeting Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat over alleged harms to young users.
- Plaintiffs allege Meta blocked safety tests that might slow growth and delayed action on grooming, citing one account removed only after 17 confirmed attempts at sexual solicitation.
- The filings quote a message attributed to Mark Zuckerberg saying child safety was not his primary concern, and the case is set for a hearing in the Northern District of California.