In response to lawmakers’ April letter,
Facebook refused to make meaningful commitments to protect children on new
platform
Washington
(May 18, 2021) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Representative Kathy
Castor (FL-14), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Representative Lori
Trahan (MA-03) today released the following statement calling on Facebook
to abandon its plans to develop a version of Instagram for children after the
company failed to make meaningful commitments to protecting kids online in a
recent
response
to the lawmakers’ query. In April, Senators Markey and Blumenthal and Reps.
Castor and Trahan
wrote
to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding Facebook’s announcement that the
company is “exploring” plans to develop a version of Instagram for children and
expressed concerns about Facebook’s past failures to protect children on
Facebook’s Messenger Kids app.
“Facebook
has a clear record of failing to protect children on its platforms. In its
response to our recent letter, the company refused to make meaningful
commitments about how it will ensure that its proposed Instagram Kids app does
not harm young users’ mental health and threaten their privacy. When it comes
to putting people before profits, Facebook has forfeited the benefit of the
doubt, and we strongly urge Facebook to abandon its plans to launch a version
of Instagram for kids,” said the lawmakers
in a joint statement.