Technology & Science
Unsealed Court Filings Accuse Meta of Burying 2020 ‘Project Mercury’ Mental-Health Findings
Newly unredacted federal court filings made public on 23 Nov 2025 allege Meta halted and concealed its own 2020 study showing Facebook and Instagram causally worsened users’ depression, anxiety and loneliness, while publicly denying evidence of teen harm.
Focusing Facts
- Internal “Project Mercury” data (2020) found that users who deactivated Facebook/Instagram for one week reported lower depression, anxiety, loneliness and social-comparison scores, according to discovery documents.
- Filings also state Instagram allowed accounts up to 16 violations for sex-trafficking content before suspension, a “17× strike” threshold disclosed by former safety lead Vaishnavi Jayakumar.
- A Northern District of California hearing on whether to unseal the internal documents is scheduled for 26 Jan 2026.
Context
Tech firms suppressing adverse internal science echoes the 1950s–70s tobacco papers and the 1979 Ford Pinto memos—periods when commercial incentives trumped disclosed health risks until litigation pried documents loose. Meta’s alleged choice to prioritise engagement metrics over child safety slots into a three-decade trend in which ad-funded platforms optimise attention, a dynamic sharpened by recommender algorithms since 2006. If the courts deem concealment actionable, it could accelerate the slow migration from industry self-regulation (Section 230 era, 1996-2020) toward enforced duty-of-care models akin to food-and-drug or auto-safety regimes. On a century scale, the event matters because it tests whether digital networks—arguably the printing press of the 21st century—will mature under a safety paradigm or repeat industrial cycles where public health lags innovation; the outcome could shape how future AI-mediated social systems balance profit, speech and wellbeing.
Perspectives
Global news outlets sharply critical of Meta
e.g., Tribune Online, Gulf Daily News Online, Daily Times, SUCH TV — The newly unsealed court filings prove Meta knowingly buried causal evidence that Facebook and Instagram damage teen mental health and protected sex-traffickers to keep engagement high. Their coverage leans toward a scandal-driven narrative, highlighting tobacco-industry analogies and cherry-picking damning internal quotes while giving Meta’s rebuttals minimal space, which keeps reader outrage – and clicks – high.
Indian business press
e.g., The Times of India, The Economic Times, Firstpost — The Reuters-sourced lawsuit filing shows Meta halted ‘Project Mercury’ after data linked its platforms to anxiety and depression, even as the company insists the methodology was flawed. As wire-copy rewrites aimed at an Indian audience, these reports largely echo Reuters without original verification, balancing allegations with Meta quotes to avoid alienating a major tech advertiser.
Business/tech lifestyle media focusing on workplace culture
e.g., Business Insider — Meta remains an “amazing” place to work, attracting boomerang employees who see the leaner, AI-focused company as an exciting career homecoming. By centering an upbeat employee anecdote and ignoring the concurrent legal firestorm, this coverage implicitly polishes Meta’s employer brand – a perspective that dovetails with the outlet’s career-advice vertical and sponsor appeal.