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US school districts have filed unredacted court papers that accuse Meta Platforms of hiding research on teen mental health. The action forms part of a multidistrict case in Northern California that also targets TikTok, Google’s YouTube, and Snap.
The districts say platform design has driven heavier student screen time, raised counseling burdens, and disrupted learning environments. A judge has set a hearing for January 26, 2026, to address the filing and requests to unseal more internal documents.
The filing centers on a 2020 Meta project code-named ‘Project Mercury.’ Meta researchers worked with Nielsen to measure effects when users deactivated Facebook or Instagram for one week. Participants reported lower depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social comparison after the break. Plaintiffs say Meta stopped the study, blamed the outcome on an “existing media narrative,” and did not publish additional work.
Plaintiffs say internal staff treated the Mercury findings as valid even as Meta downplayed them in public. The filing cites messages that acknowledged a causal impact on social comparison. Plaintiffs argue that Meta later told Congress it lacked tools to quantify harm to teenage girls, despite having internal results that linked reduced use to improved mood.
The districts also allege that Meta designed youth safety features to remain weak or rarely used. They say product teams avoided testing stronger protections because leaders prioritized growth. The filing points to a high strike threshold before removing some sex-trafficking accounts, long delays in making teen accounts private by default, and recommendation systems that increased teen engagement while serving more harmful content.
Meta rejects the accusations and says it ended Project Mercury because the methodology failed to meet standards. A company spokesperson says Meta has expanded teen accounts, parental supervision tools, limits on sensitive recommendations, and enforcement against predatory behavior.
Meta also says it removes sex-trafficking accounts once systems flag them. The company has asked the court to strike or keep sealed some discovery materials, arguing that the unsealing request reaches too far.
The filing extends claims to rival platforms, though it provides fewer internal details. It alleges that TikTok, Snap, and YouTube concealed known risks, encouraged under-13 use, and sought support from child-focused groups.
The papers say TikTok used sponsorship ties to influence the National PTA to back its safety messaging. TikTok, Google, and Snap have not provided detailed responses to the latest allegations. The broader case will examine whether design features, not only user posts, caused youth harm across platforms.
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