Trigger warning: This email discusses depression and suicide.

Hey there --

Explosive new reporting from The Wall Street Journal reveals that Facebook has been hiding internal research on Instagram’s negative effects on young people’s mental health. 

Back in March, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers asked Mark Zuckerberg if he acknowledged a connection between children’s declining mental health and social media. Mark’s response: “I don’t think the research is conclusive on that.”

But Facebook had internal research aligned with the overwhelming findings of other research linking depression to social media. Facebook’s own internal research came to the below alarming conclusions:

• "We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls."
• 14% of boys in the U.S. felt worse about themselves due to Instagram.
• “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression. This reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups.”
• 13% of British users and 6% of American users traced suicidal thoughts back to Instagram.

Facebook is well aware of how its platform drives depression and suicide. Yet they still choose to put users in harm’s way. The bottom line: Zuckerberg lied and teens have died confronting the mental health challenges produced and exacerbated by his social media platform. 

Despite this damning research, Facebook still refuses to act. Join us in demanding that Congress open an investigation into Facebook’s predatory, malicious business practices that put children in harm’s way.

While it may seem like Facebook will stop at nothing to grow their audience and profits—even plowing ahead with their plans to build a version of Instagram for kids under 13—we must fight to hold them accountable and urge Congress to conduct a thorough investigation.

As a mother, I’m committed to doing everything I can to stop them from putting more kids in harm’s way.

Thanks for your support,
Nicole

Co-founder & Executive Director
Accountable Tech