A letter from the Union of American Attorneys General sent to the Facebook CEO gives full reasons why Facebook should not release a version of Instagram for children.
Back in March, Buzzfeed reported that Facebook was planning to release an “Instagram for kids” app for children under 13 in a way that was deemed safe.
Recently, however, a coalition of 44 US attorneys general signed a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, listing reasons and citing research suggesting Facebook should not continue with the plan. develop the Instagram app for kids. One of the reasons listed in the letter is: Facebook has had many controversies in the past related to protecting children’s privacy; other research also shows that social media can harm children both physically and mentally; children do not have a complete understanding of privacy and can easily become targets of anonymous criminals; especially the large percentage of young Instagram users surveyed have experienced cyberbullying on this app. It seems that with the development of Instagram for Kids, Facebook not only failed to meet the need, but even created another need, as the platform mainly appeals to children with or without Instagram accounts. In short, an Instagram platform for young children will be harmful for a multitude of reasons. The attorney general urged Facebook to drop its plans to launch this new platform. In a statement released by Attorney General Maura Healey, the head of the coalition, she cited Zuckerberg’s rejection of the idea that social media is harmful to children. The statement points out that there is much evidence and research that contradicts Zuckerberg’s denial. Currently, children under the age of 13 are not allowed to own an Instagram account unless the description of the profile clearly states that the account is being managed by a parent or guardian. Back in March, Instagram released a blog post showing their efforts to protect minors under the age of 18 on the platform. The AG Alliance believes that this is not enough, especially for those under 13 years old. According to Gsmarena
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