Even More Damning Evidence and Documents From Google and Meta Uploaded to Big Tech on Trial Microsite
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, The Tech Oversight Project released a nationwide survey conducted by YouGov showing that a near-universal percentage of Americans are disgusted by Big Tech for recklessly endangering minors by designing addictive features into its products – leading to lifelong health issues like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and even suicidal ideation. The results come just hours before Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify in the social media addiction trials. The survey was conducted from February 11th to February 13th, with a sample size of 1,000 respondents and a 3.9% margin of error.
“This trial is a watershed moment because, for the first time, Meta is in the prone position of having to produce documents under court order – with actual legal penalties on the line. This isn’t a consequence-free zone or yet another opportunity to lie to lawmakers without fear of penalty,” said Sacha Haworth, Executive Director of The Tech Oversight Project. “This trial has already proven that there is a direct link between Big Tech’s dangerous product designs and real-world harms, and it should come as no surprise that voters are mad as hell and want Congress to do something about it. For millions of Americans, this is deeply personal, and every day that Congress fails to bring up the Senate’s version of the Kids Online Safety Act is a missed opportunity to save lives.”
The Tech Oversight Project is also releasing a new tranche of unsealed documents to its Big Tech on Trial microsite, which includes explosive internal messages showing that Meta deceived the general public and Congress about how harmful its products were and that Meta employees warned Mark Zuckerberg and senior executives, like Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri and former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. Rather than making the products safer, Meta buried research, deleted reports of abuse and harm, and rolled out parental control features that researchers have proven do not work. To learn more, visit The Tech Oversight Project’s Big Tech on Trial microsite.
Poll Results:
- After learning that Big Tech companies Google and Meta are on trial for designing products to addict kids, leading to lifelong health conditions like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and even suicidal ideation, 86% of respondents agree that Big Tech should be held accountable.
- Over two-thirds of respondents would be more likely to vote for their Member of Congress if they are working to pass a bipartisan online safety law, like the Kids Online Safety Act, which would protect children and teens from dangerous social media features like infinite scroll, near-constant notifications, and predatory algorithms.
Research Highlights:
Targeting underage users:
- “Zuck has been talking about (going after <13y/o users) for a while” – Internal Meta employee chats, May 2017
- Meta: “Instagram sells itself” to 6th graders ages 11-12 – Internal slides
Exploiting neuroscience to target kids:
- “People who are particularly sensitive to social rewards might find FB use more rewarding and therefore use it more.” – Internal slides, 2018
- “People engage in these behaviors repeatedly and often do them without thinking.” – Internal slides
- Meta scientists were “both cognizant of and conceptually grounded in the current scientific literature.” – Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis, expert report, May 16, 202
- “No one wakes up thinking they want to maximize the number of times they open Instagram that day. But that’s exactly what our product teams are trying to do.” – Max Eulenstein, Meta VP of Product, internal email on Jan 26, 2021
- “Populations are more at risk for developing mental health challenges when they are also more likely to have unhealthy social media use.” – Internal slides
