Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been contemplating changing how the company studies social issues following a controversy surrounding internal research on teen girls' mental health. The revelation came after a leaked email, which revealed that Meta's own research had found that "Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse." This finding was published by The Wall Street Journal and was based on documents obtained from a whistleblower, Frances Haugen.
In the email, Zuckerberg wondered if Meta should adopt a different approach to researching social issues. He mentioned that his peers in the industry seem to avoid public criticism of these issues by not conducting thorough research or analytics. He specifically cited Apple as an example, noting that they do not have teams reviewing and moderating content on their platforms.
Zuckerberg also pointed out that Meta's more proactive approach to studying social issues has led to increased scrutiny from critics, while his peers seem to get away with less criticism by doing less research. However, he argued that this is unfair, as Meta's research aims to improve the safety and well-being of its users.
The leaked email was collected in discovery by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez as part of a case alleging Meta deceptively positioned its products as safe for teens when it was aware of harmful design choices. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told The Verge that the company is committed to transparent and industry-leading research, but the exact details of their approach are subject to change.
In response to Zuckerberg's email, some top executives suggested continuing internal research into social issues, despite the potential risks of public criticism. However, others advocated for centralizing teams that conduct sensitive research or outsourcing that work when needed.
Meta has since announced changes to its organization and methodology around internal and external research, citing the need for more transparency and accountability in their approach to studying social issues.
In the email, Zuckerberg wondered if Meta should adopt a different approach to researching social issues. He mentioned that his peers in the industry seem to avoid public criticism of these issues by not conducting thorough research or analytics. He specifically cited Apple as an example, noting that they do not have teams reviewing and moderating content on their platforms.
Zuckerberg also pointed out that Meta's more proactive approach to studying social issues has led to increased scrutiny from critics, while his peers seem to get away with less criticism by doing less research. However, he argued that this is unfair, as Meta's research aims to improve the safety and well-being of its users.
The leaked email was collected in discovery by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez as part of a case alleging Meta deceptively positioned its products as safe for teens when it was aware of harmful design choices. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told The Verge that the company is committed to transparent and industry-leading research, but the exact details of their approach are subject to change.
In response to Zuckerberg's email, some top executives suggested continuing internal research into social issues, despite the potential risks of public criticism. However, others advocated for centralizing teams that conduct sensitive research or outsourcing that work when needed.
Meta has since announced changes to its organization and methodology around internal and external research, citing the need for more transparency and accountability in their approach to studying social issues.
. Like, he's not trying to be some sort of villain, he just wants to make sure his platform is good for everyone 
. The thing is, Instagram can have a super bad influence on teens, especially when it comes to body image 
. I remember seeing all these ads and posts that just promote this unattainable beauty standard 
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. It's not like Apple is gonna come out with a doc showing how they secretly ruin lives 
. I mean, the email thing was kinda crazy... but you can see why he'd be worried about getting slammed by critics 
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. Meta needs to keep pushing boundaries but also listen to people who have concerns 
. We're all in this together, right? 
! Mark Zuckerberg's getting roasted for his response to all this drama 
. Like, if Meta's got a problem with people scrutinizin' their research, maybe they should be doin' better quality work in the first place? 
. And now Meta's all like "oh, we're gonna make some changes" 
... but let's be real, it's gonna take more than just a few tweaks to fix the mess they've made 
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Meta's own research showed this finding and now they're trying to change their approach to studying social issues.
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. They're basically just making themselves look bad when it comes to how they're affecting teen girls' mental health 
. I mean, if other companies aren't doing the same kind of research and are getting away with it, then why change? It feels like Meta's trying to do the right thing but it's gonna be tough for them to escape criticism 
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. We need more companies like Meta who are willing to take the risk of speaking out on these issues. We can't just keep ignoring the problems with our social media platforms 
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But at the same time, it's also understandable why they're getting criticized for it. Like, who wants to be on the receiving end of public scrutiny? 
I mean, if they were just going to keep doing things the same way and not think about how their research might impact users, that's not very optimistic thinking! 
Like, we'd finally have some real answers to all the problems we're dealing with online. 
. And what's with all the back-and-forth between top execs? Can't they just agree on something already? 
This whole thing just makes me wanna roll my eyes and go back to using my old phone's browser 
! Zuckerberg's right to question the approach, but it's also super important for Meta to listen to criticism and take action. The fact that Apple doesn't review or moderate content on their platforms can't be a good thing... we need more transparency and accountability in the tech industry 
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The fact that they're taking a more proactive approach to researching social issues might be what's getting them extra scrutiny, but honestly, can't we just have a conversation about this stuff without all the drama 
? Maybe they should take some cues from Apple, who doesn't seem to get as much flak for not reviewing their content 
. Anyway, gotta give 'em credit for trying to improve user safety and well-being 
. We need more companies like that in this space 
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. Their lack of transparency around content moderation on their platforms is definitely something they need to work on 
. That's gotta be a step in the right direction 