September 16, 2021
On Wednesday, U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to Facebook urging the company to abandon its plans to build a version of its Instagram app for children under 13.
Lawmakers also demanded that the company share research from a recent Wall Street Journal report that revealed Facebook’s secret internal research into the impact of its platform on young users.
The letter written by the three lawmakers states: “Although you have publicly told Congress that ‘the research [I have] seen is that using social apps to connect with other people can have positive mental-health benefits,’ your own company’s research points to disturbing relationships between Instagram use and young people’s mental health challenges. Children and teens are uniquely vulnerable populations online, and these findings paint a clear and devastating picture of Instagram as an app that poses significant threats to young people’s wellbeing. We are deeply concerned that your company continues to fail in its obligation to protect young users and has yet to commit to halting its plans to launch new platforms targeting children and teens.”
Facebook has faced criticism from almost all sides, including lawmakers, regulators and parents since it announced its Instagram youth project with child protection groups and 44 state attorneys general calling on the social media giant to abandon the project.
For more information, read the original story in NPR.
