Refinery29
Absolutely No One Wants An “Instagram For Kids”
Surprise, surprise: The man best known for inventing a hotspot for political misinformation, privacy violations, and countless data leaks had a terrible idea. On Monday, May 10, 44 attorneys general penned a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, urging Facebook to halt its plans for a new business venture: “Instagram for kids.” The letter brings up the many, many psychological and safety-related reasons it would be harmful to launch a version of the app for children under the age of 13. Zuckerberg, however, seems adamant about doing it anyway. “Use of social media can be detrimental to the health and well-being of children, who are not equipped to navigate the challenges of having a social media account. Further, Facebook has historically failed to protect the welfare of children on its platforms,” wrote the National Association of Attorneys General. “The attorneys general have an interest in protecting our youngest citizens, and Facebook’s plans to create a platform where kids under the age of 13 are encouraged to share content online is contrary to that interest.” Many of us were unaware of Instagram for kids (thankfully), which was actually announced around two months ago. Zuckerberg confirmed the plan during a March 25 congressional hearing, and the same month, a Facebook spokesperson told USA Today that the app was “in its very early stages” and would hopefully “help kids keep up with their…
