Meta would have buried a study on the psychological damage caused by its platforms

Meta is once again in the eye of the storm due to the psychological damage that Facebook and Instagram would inflict on their users (particularly the youngest). According to court documents that were released last Friday in the United States, The company led by Mark Zuckerberg would have deliberately stopped a study that found evidence of the psychological damage that Facebook and Instagram would cause to its users.

This investigation, which was called “Project Mercury” and was carried out in 2020, concluded that Users who refrained from visiting Facebook for a week reported lower levels of depression, anxiety, loneliness and desire to compare themselves with others.

However, instead of publishing the results of the report, Meta would have made the determination to completely suspend the investigation. A spokesperson for the American multinational, however, denies the accusations and assures that the study was discontinued due to the identification of methodological flaws (and not because its results left Facebook and Instagram in a bad light).

The revelations are part of a lawsuit filed in the United States by several school districts against Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat. According to the plaintiffs, Meta would have deliberately neglected the safety of the youngest people on its domains to continue fueling growth on Facebook and Instagram.

Meta denies having stopped the investigation because it was contrary to his interests

Meta is also blamed for knowingly implementing totally ineffective protection measures. and that efforts aimed at actively combating “cyberbullying” on Facebook and Instagram would have also been suppressed.

Besides, Meta would have made the decision to take action to suspend an account solely and exclusively after becoming aware (proven) that 17 requests of a sexual nature had been made from that account.. And it seems that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, would have openly expressed that the safety of minors on Facebook and Instagram was in no way a priority for the company, immersed at that time in the metaverse.

A Meta spokesperson insists that The accusations against the company are anchored in “quotes taken out of context and opinions clearly based on misinformation”. Furthermore, the measures implemented by Meta to protect minors on their social networks would have been effective, the spokesperson says.

A hearing is scheduled for January 26. lawsuit directly related to this matter in the Northern District Court of California.

The revelations come to the surface at a time when The debate on the possible ban of social networks for children and adolescents is increasingly heated internationally. Australia passed a social media ban for users under 16 last year and Greece later followed suit.