Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Considered Changing How Company Studies Platform Harms After Instagram Teen Mental Health Scandal

In a bombshell revelation from newly unsealed court documents, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly considered fundamentally changing how the company conducts research on potential harms to users following a major scandal involving Instagram’s impact on teenage girls’ mental health.

The internal email, sent on September 15th, 2021, reveals Zuckerberg’s thoughts just one day after The Wall Street Journal published a damning report based on internal Meta documents showing that 32% of teen girls said Instagram made them feel worse about their bodies when they were already feeling bad about themselves. The subject line of the email read: “Social issue research and analytics — privileged and confidential.”

“Why do we face more criticism for doing more research?” Zuckerberg wrote in the email to top executives including then-COO Sheryl Sandberg and head of global affairs Nick Clegg. “Apple, for example, doesn’t seem to study any of this stuff. As far as I understand, they don’t have anyone reviewing or moderating content and don’t even have a report flow in iMessage.”

The email was uncovered as part of discovery in a New Mexico Attorney General case alleging Meta deceptively positioned its products as safe for teens while being aware of harmful design choices that allegedly addicted children and allowed child predators to thrive. The case is expected to begin opening statements next week, with similar lawsuits pending in California.

Zuckerberg’s email reveals a fascinating corporate strategy discussion about how tech companies handle research into potential harms. He noted that when Apple attempted to address child safety concerns by scanning iCloud photos for CSAM (child sexual abuse material), the company faced significant backlash from privacy advocates. Apple eventually walked back these proposals.

The internal debate extended beyond Zuckerberg’s initial email. Javier Olivan, then-VP of central products, responded that “leaks suck, and will continue to happen, unless we find a way to eradicate them,” but argued that understanding these issues was “the responsible thing to do.” David Ginsberg, then-VP of product, choice, and competition, agreed that internal work was important for providing a good product and user experience.

Guy Rosen, a product executive leading integrity work, later outlined several potential organizational changes, ranging from centralizing sensitive research teams to the extreme option of disbanding them entirely and outsourcing the work when needed. The company ultimately chose a middle path, announcing changes before Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri’s congressional testimony.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone defended the company’s research practices, stating that Meta “is proud of our continued commitment to doing transparent, industry-leading research” and uses insights to make meaningful improvements like introducing teen accounts with built-in protections.

The email provides unprecedented insight into how Meta executives viewed their approach to social responsibility research compared to competitors, revealing a corporate calculus that weighed the benefits of understanding platform harms against the public relations risks of such research becoming public knowledge.

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