Meta, TikTok, and Snap will participate in an external grading process that evaluates social platforms on their protection of adolescent mental health. YouTube and other numerous social platforms are also involved.
The Mental Health Coalition’s Safe Online Standards (SOS) initiative created this program. SOS encompasses approximately two dozen standards, including platform policy, functionality, governance, transparency, and content oversight.
Dr. Dan Reidenberg, Managing Director of the National Council for Suicide Prevention, leads the SOS initiative.
The Mental Health Coalition stated that SOS establishes user-informed data on how social media, gaming, and digital platforms design products, protect users aged 13–19, and address exposure to suicide and self-harm content. Participating companies are required to voluntarily submit documentation on their policies, tools, and product features.
An independent panel of global experts will evaluate the submitted documentation.
Platforms will receive one of three ratings:
- use carefully
- partial protection
- does not meet standards
“Use carefully” is the highest safety rating. Platforms that achieve this rating will receive a blue badge for display. This rating requires accessible and easy-to-use reporting tools, and privacy, default, and safety functions that are clear and easy for parents to set. It also specifies that platforms and filters help reduce exposure to harmful or inappropriate content.
“Partial protection” indicates that some safety tools exist but may be difficult to locate or use.
“Does not meet standards” is assigned if filters and content moderation do not reliably block harmful or unsafe content.
The Mental Health Coalition, founded in 2020, has included Facebook and Meta as partners since its inception. In 2021, the organization announced its plan to partner with Facebook and Instagram to destigmatize mental health and connect individuals to resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, the nonprofit published a case study with support from Meta. This study concluded that mental health content on social media can reduce stigma and increase individuals’ likelihood to seek resources, thereby positively impacting mental health.
In 2024, the Mental Health Coalition, in partnership with Meta, launched the Time Well Spent Challenge. This campaign encouraged parents to have meaningful conversations with teens about healthy social media use. The focus was on keeping teens on-platform in a “time well spent” manner, including reduced screen time, using social media for good, and reviewing feeds together.
That same year, the partnership with Meta established “Thrive,” a program enabling tech companies to share data regarding content that violates self-harm or suicide guidelines. The Mental Health Coalition lists Meta as a “creative partner” on its website.
Last year, allegations surfaced that Meta suppressed internal data regarding the negative effects of its products on users’ mental health. This internal research, named “Project Mercury,” began in 2020. Since then, Meta has implemented limited measures to address mental health concerns, such as features for Instagram teen accounts. Meta is currently on trial in California, facing allegations of child harm due to addictive products. This is the first of several impending lawsuits against the company.
Roblox and Discord are also participating in the rating program. Roblox recently faced accusations regarding child wellbeing on its platform. Discord has enhanced its age-verification processes in response to child endangerment concerns.
