Meta's Dirty Secrets: How the Parent Company of Facebook and Instagram Conceals its Harmful Tactics

10. Meta knows its Platform features are addictive and harmful, but misrepresents and omits this information in public discourse.

414. Meta understands the cyclical and harmful nature of its psychologically manipulative features, but persists in subjecting young users to those features, choosing to downplay and deny the harmful aspects of its Platforms instead of correcting those problems.

415. During a congressional hearing on March 25, 2021, Zuckerberg stated he did not believe Meta’s Platforms harm children. Instead, Zuckerberg suggested that Meta’s Platforms are good for teens and adults alike because they “help people stay connected to people they care about, which I think is one of the most fundamental and important human things that we do.”

416-417. [Redacted]

418. In 2019 and 2020, Zuckerberg and Mosseri met multiple times with Jonathan Haidt, a New York University professor studying the effects of social media on teens’ mental health. [Redacted] Haidt recalled that “[i]t was not suggested to me that they had internal research showing a problem.”

419. At the March 25, 2021 congressional hearing, Zuckerberg was asked whether passive consumption of social media content, like that promoted by Instagram’s infinite scroll, harmed children’s mental health. Zuckerberg refused to give a yes or no answer, [Redacted] Zuckerberg again played up the benefits of Meta’s Platforms to the committee, stating that “[o]verall, the research that we have seen is that using social apps to connect with other people can have positive mental health benefits and well-being benefits by helping people feel more connected and less lonely.” [Redacted]

420-424. [Redacted]

425. In May 2021, Mosseri told reporters that the research he had seen suggested Instagram’s effects on teen well-being are likely “quite small,” as reported by the Wall Street Journal that September. [Redacted]

426. [Redacted]

427. Externally, Meta’s leadership continued to be evasive about the company’s research. On December 8, 2021, Mosseri told Congress, “I don’t believe that research suggests that our products are addictive.”

428. [Redacted]

429. Through these and other misrepresentations to young users, Congress, and members of the public regarding the negative effect its Platform features have on young users’ mental health—as well as Meta’s purported prioritization of teen well-being and safety over profits—Meta deceives the public about the qualities, nature, and effects of its Social Media Platforms.