18 May, Reuters, Washington: On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of Democratic senators in the United States urged Facebook Inc (FB.O) to abandon its plans to launch an Instagram version aimed at children under the age of 13, claiming the social media giant had failed to “make substantial commitments to protecting kids online.”
Facebook has not addressed the concerns of Senator Ed Markey, Representative Kathy Castor, and Representative Lori Trahan. A letter from Facebook to lawmakers dated April 26 and made public on Tuesday revealed the company’s estimate that the creation of the new version will “take many months.”
Facebook has a “proven track record of not protecting children on its platforms,” “In a unified statement, the legislators explained. Facebook “has forfeited the benefit of the doubt when it comes to putting people before money,” the letter reads. “We strongly urge Facebook to reject its plans to build a version of Instagram aimed specifically at children.”
In the same vein as the federal government, a coalition of 40 state attorneys general pushed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to scrap the idea last week. 18 May, Reuters, Washington: On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of Democratic legislators in the United States urged Facebook Inc (FB.O) to abandon plans for a version of Instagram aimed at children younger than 13, claiming the social media giant had failed to “make substantial commitments to protecting youngsters online.”
Facebook has not addressed the concerns of Senator Ed Markey, Representative Kathy Castor, and Representative Lori Trahan. Facebook informed the legislators in a letter dated April 26 that was made public on Tuesday that the company does not have a specific schedule for the version, but that development will “take many months.”
See Down for More Ads
Facebook has a “proven track record of not doing enough to keep kids safe on its sites,” “state representatives and senators stated in a statement. Facebook “has lost the benefit of the doubt when it comes to putting people before money,” and therefore, “we strongly urge Facebook to forgo its intentions to establish a version of Instagram for kids.”
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was persuaded by 40 state attorneys general to drop the idea last week. On Tuesday, a representative from Facebook made the following statement: “Children are already online, as any parent can attest. In an effort to ameliorate this problem, we’re developing solutions that will allow parents to monitor and direct their children’s online activity.”
In the past, Instagram has stated that it will not display advertisements to anyone younger than 13. Media reports from 2019 stated that the Messenger Kids app for children ages 6 to 12 on Facebook “contained a significant design flaw that allowed children to circumvent restrictions on online interactions and join group chats with strangers that were not previously approved by their parents.” This was cited in a letter from the state attorney’s general.
