Meta halted internal research after early results showed Facebook could harm users' mental health, according to newly unsealed court documents from a lawsuit filed by US school districts.
The filings claim Meta ended the work once it discovered evidence that people who stopped using Facebook felt less anxious and less depressed.
The research, known as Project Mercury, began in 2020. Meta scientists worked with the survey group Nielsen to study what happened when users deactivated Facebook for one week.
According to the documents, the results were clear: people reported "lower feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness and social comparison."
According to Reuters, instead of publishing the findings or continuing the research, the filings say Meta shut the project down and later dismissed the results as being "tainted by the existing media narrative."
Privately, some staff members said the findings were real. One unnamed researcher wrote, "The Nielsen study does show causal impact on social comparison," adding an unhappy face emoji.
Another worker reportedly compared the situation to the tobacco industry "doing research and knowing cigs were bad and then keeping that info to themselves."
Meta buried 'causal' evidence of social media harm, US court filings allege https://t.co/9J2Me3xtG2 https://t.co/9J2Me3xtG2
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 23, 2025
Lawsuit Says Meta Hid Risks as Company Told Congress
The lawsuit argues that despite evidence from its own team, Meta later told Congress it had no way to measure whether its platforms hurt teenage girls.
Attorneys for school districts say this shows the company hid known risks from parents, teachers, and young users.
In a statement on Saturday, Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the study was stopped because "its methodology was flawed," adding that the company has "made real changes to protect teens."
He said Meta has spent more than a decade listening to parents and improving its safety tools, Mint reported. Stone later said the lawsuit relies on "cherry-picked quotes and misinformed opinions."
The new claims appear in a broader case filed by the law firm Motley Rice. The firm is suing Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat on behalf of school districts across the country, accusing the companies of ignoring the dangers their platforms pose to children.
TikTok, Google, and Snapchat did not immediately comment on the filing.
The legal complaint also includes accusations that social media companies encouraged underage use, failed to stop harmful content, and tried to persuade child-focused groups to publicly defend their platforms.
Meta has asked the court to strike the documents from the record. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for January 26 in federal court in Northern California.
Originally published on vcpost.com
