Zuckerberg Stands Accused Of Ignoring Expert Advice, Meta's Plastic Surgery Filters Stay Despite Risks To Youth Mental Health

Unredacted documents from a Massachusetts lawsuit have revealed that Meta Platforms Inc.’s META CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, kept filters simulating plastic surgery on its social media platforms, disregarding the recommendations by experts. 

What Happened: As per the document, the plaintiffs, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, represented by Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, have alleged that the tech giant’s public statements about having youth well-being its “top priority” are deceptive. 

In the lawsuit, it was revealed that, among other things, Meta CEO vetoed the removal of cosmetic surgery filters that cause harm to young users, especially females, “because their removal would decrease user time on the platform.”

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These filters and “effects” in question on Meta platforms like Instagram allow users to digitally alter their photos and videos with the help of “simulate makeup,” “cosmetic surgery,” “botox,” “clearer skin,” and other enhancements.

“The result is that a young user may post a picture and have it manipulated to reflect how that user may appear if they had cosmetic surgery or other pharmaceutical appearance enhancements, and also can encounter images manipulated with filters in these ways by others,” the lawsuit stated. 

Meta stands accused of knowing about the “severe harm” these filters cause, including mental health issues to young users, but still retaining them. 

In fact, as per the lawsuit, in 2019, Meta’s VP of product design, Margaret Gould Stewart, wrote an email to Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Facebook’s Fidji Simo and other leadership. 

The motive was to ask for support to change the company’s policies and “disallow effects that mimic plastic surgery,” including removing plastic surgery filters on Facebook and Instagram. 

While the proposal received “unanimous positive support,” as per the unredacted document, on April 1, 2020, Zuckerberg vetoed the proposal. 

“Zuckerberg stated that there was a “clear demand” for the filters, and claimed, falsely, that he had seen “no data” suggesting that the filters were harmful,” the lawsuit read. 

The document was first shared by The Verge. 

Why It’s Important: In March earlier this year, a filter on ByteDance-owned TikTok called “Bold Glamor” went viral on social media, but not without receiving some major backlash. 

This filter transformed users’ natural, plain faces into glamorous ones by sharpening their chin, airbrushing the skin, filling their eyebrows, and brightening their cheeks. However, many people disapproved that having a slightly less filtered or no-filter image is just unappealing. 

Meanwhile, earlier this week, a former Meta employee testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee and accused the tech giant of being aware of teens’ risks on its social media platforms but failing to take enough precautions or protective actions. 

Photo by Frederic Legrand – COMEO on Shutterstock

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