Overview
- Court documents describe a 2020 internal study, code-named Project Mercury, finding users reported lower depression, anxiety and loneliness after deactivating Facebook and Instagram.
- The filings say Meta halted the research and did not publish the results, internally attributing the negative findings to the prevailing media narrative.
- Former Instagram safety lead Vaishnavi Jayakumar testified that accounts tied to prostitution and sexual solicitation faced suspension only after 17 violations.
- Jayakumar also testified that Instagram lacked a specific in‑app option to report child sexual abuse material in March 2020, despite her view that adding one was straightforward.
- Meta disputes the allegations, calling the study flawed and highlighting later changes including a stated one‑strike policy for severe exploitation, as a multi‑defendant suit with 1,800+ plaintiffs proceeds in federal court in Northern California.