May 11, 2021 19:00:00

Attorney Generals in U.S. States Jointly Issue Statement Calling for Discontinuation of Instagram for Children

Facebook is

reportedly considering developing Instagram for children under the age of 13, but there are voices calling for the service to be discontinued, saying 'children's safety is a concern.' On May 10, 2021, the US State Attorney General's Conference (NAAG) issued a new statement calling on Facebook to stop developing Instagram for children.

NAAG-Letter-to-Facebook-Final-1.pdf
(PDF link) https://1li23g1as25g1r8so11ozniw-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NAAG-Letter-to-Facebook-Final-1.pdf

Attorneys General Urge Facebook to Abandon Launch of Instagram Kids
https://www.naag.org/social-media/press-releases/attorneys-general-urge-facebook-to-abandon-launch-of-instagram-kids/

Instagram's Terms of Service stipulate that children under the age of 13 cannot use the service. However, in March 2021, it turned out that Facebook was developing 'Instagram for children under 13 years old'. In response, on April 15, 2021, several experts told Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that Instagram for children will affect the safety and privacy of children. I'm asking you to cancel the plan.

How is 'Instagram for children under 13' evaluated by experts? --GIGAZINE

And on May 10, 2021, NAAG sent a letter to CEO Zuckerberg asking him to abandon his plans to develop Instagram for children. In the letter, NAAG said, 'There are findings showing that SNS may harm children's physical and mental well-being.' 'Instagram-related cyberbullying is on the rise.' 'Advertising and inappropriateness.' It points out concerns such as 'the lack of children's ability to deal with the complexity of SNS, such as the content and interaction with strangers.'

According to NAAG, about 20 million images of sexual abuse of children have been found on Facebook and Instagram in 2020 alone. A 2017 survey also found that 42% of young Instagram users were experiencing cyberbullying on Instagram, and as children spend more time online in the Corona disaster, these NAAG argues that the problem can be exacerbated.

'Instagram for kids doesn't show ads and has parental controls,' said Stephanie Otway, an Instagram spokeswoman. However, NAAG has added 'Messenger Kids', a messaging app for children with the concept of 'you can talk only with users who your parents want to allow', 'a bug that allows you to talk with users who your parents do not allow'. 'Facebook has a history of failing to protect children,' he said, citing the existence of.

Facebook's messaging app has a structural flaw that causes children to chat with fraudulent users-GIGAZINE