Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is accused of hiding internal research that found a link between its platform and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, according to newly unredacted court filings. The documents, released as part of a long-running lawsuit by US school districts against social media companies, allege that Meta halted a 2020 study after discovering that users who stopped using Facebook reported lower levels of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social comparison. The company reportedly dismissed the findings as biased by the ‘existing media narrative’ around the company, rather than investigating further or alerting authorities.
The allegations come amid increased scrutiny of Meta in the US, including a recent antitrust court ruling in its favor. In October, Meta said it would add new safeguards to its ‘teen accounts,’ allowing parents to turn off their children’s communications with the company’s AI chatbots, following earlier revelations that they could engage minors in romantic or sensual conversation. The company has also faced pressure from the US Federal Trade Commission, which has accused it of holding a monopoly in social networking. However, last week a Washington district court ruled in Meta’s favor in the antitrust lawsuit, stating that the US competition watchdog had not proven that the company currently holds a monopoly, ‘whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past.’