(1) This is probably a project by a small "research" group at Facebook.
With blessings from on high, no doubt.
(2) According to the article, the project was never actually started.
Oh yes it was -- the FB spokesperson said it was in the "planning stages". That's quite definitely a form of "starting" (especially for large companies).
If a local waste disposal company were to acknowledge that it was in the "planning" stages of, say, a major incineration facility on that vacant lot down the street your kids used to play in... you wouldn't say this was "a bit of a non-story", now would you?