BOSTON (WHDH) - Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is among 44 attorney generals urging Facebook to abandon its plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13.
The AGs wrote a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, contending that social media can be detrimental to children and that Facebook has historically failed to protect the welfare of kids on its platform.
“It’s shameful that Facebook is ignoring the very real threat that social media poses to the safety and well-being of young children in an attempt to profit off of a vulnerable segment of our population,” Healey said. “I’m joining my colleagues across the country who are heavily invested in protecting our youngest residents from harm, sexual predators, and cyberbullying to call on Facebook to abandon this reckless plan to exploit children.”
The AGs continued in their letter that along with social media having harmful effects on the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of children, there are rapidly worsening concerns about cyberbullying on Instagram, as well as the risk of the platform being used by predators to target kids.
Young children are also not equipped to handle an Instagram account, in part because they often lack a developed understanding of privacy, the AGs said.
They also casted doubt on Facebook’s ability to protect children on their proposed Instagram platform and comply with relevant privacy laws since the company reportedly has a record of failing to protect the safety and privacy of kids.
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