Much of the case against Meta rests on its own records. Internal research, emails and presentations have come out through a whistleblower, congressional testimony, court filings and the first trial. Plaintiffs say they show Meta understood the risks to young users and chose growth anyway. Meta disputes how the documents have been described.
The Facebook Files
In September 2021, The Wall Street Journal published internal Instagram research. One 2019 slide said: “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls.” Another said teens blamed Instagram for increases in anxiety and depression.
On October 5, 2021, former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen testified to a Senate subcommittee that the company’s products harm children.
Arturo Béjar’s Testimony
On November 7, 2023, former Meta engineering director Arturo Béjar told a Senate subcommittee that he had warned Mark Zuckerberg and other senior leaders in October 2021. According to his written testimony, internal survey data showed that in a seven-day period, 21.8 percent of 13 to 15 year olds on Instagram had been bullied and 39.4 percent had experienced negative comparison.
The Unredacted State Complaint
Documents unsealed in the multistate attorney general case in November 2023 described more than 1.1 million reports of users under 13 on Instagram between early 2019 and mid 2023, with only a fraction of those accounts disabled. One 2018 internal document said Meta did very little to keep children under 13 off the platform.
Project Mercury
A November 2025 court filing by school districts, reported by Reuters, described a 2020 Meta study called Project Mercury. Users who stopped using Facebook for a week reported less depression, anxiety, loneliness and social comparison. According to the filing, Meta stopped the research and did not publish it. Meta says the study’s methods were flawed.
Evidence at the First Trial
When Mark Zuckerberg testified in Los Angeles on February 18, 2026, plaintiffs’ lawyers showed him internal records, including:
- A 2015 estimate that more than 4 million children under 13 were using Instagram.
- An internal line stating that to win with teens, Meta must bring them in as tweens.
- Records of his decision not to ban cosmetic surgery filters, after calling the concerns paternalistic.
- Evidence that Instagram did not ask for a birth date until December 2019.
The jury found Meta negligent five weeks later. More internal records are expected at the next trial, which begins October 28, 2026, where Zuckerberg and Mosseri have been ordered to testify.
Common Questions
Why do internal documents matter for my family’s claim?
They go to what Meta knew and when. Evidence that a company knew of a risk and did not warn can support negligence and failure-to-warn claims and, in some cases, punitive damages.
Are all of Meta’s documents public?
No. Many remain sealed or confidential. Documents become public as they are filed in court, shown at trial or released by investigators.
Did Meta admit its apps cause harm?
No. Meta denies the claims and says its research has been taken out of context. A jury found Meta negligent in March 2026, and Meta has appealed.
Will more documents come out?
Likely. Additional trials are scheduled in Los Angeles and in federal court, and evidence is presented at each one.