Lawmakers Ask Zuckerberg to Drop ‘Instagram for Kids’ After Report Says App Made Kids Suicidal

Democratic lawmakers are calling on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to desert his plans to launch an “Instagram for Kids,” citing inside analysis by the corporate declaring the platform has infected mental-health issues, together with suicidal ideation, amongst its teenage customers; most notably, younger women.

The demand comes as high lawmakers on the Senate Commerce Committee announced plans to research the corporate with the assistance of a “Facebook whistleblower.”

“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,” the lawmakers mentioned.

The letter is signed by Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, and Representatives Kathy Castor and Lori Trahan of Florida and Massachusetts, respectively.

The Wall Street Journal revealed Tuesday that researchers inside Instagram had studied the impression of the photo-sharing app on the lives of its hundreds of thousands of younger customers. The researchers concluded {that a} sizable share of teenage women believed the app was chargeable for psychological well being points associated to their self-image.

“We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” the researchers wrote in a slide presentation posted to Facebook’s inside message board and obtained by the Journal.

According to at least one slide, 32 p.c of youngster women mentioned the app made them really feel worse about their our bodies. Of those that’d skilled suicidal ideas, “13% of British users and 6% of American users traced the desire to kill themselves to Instagram,” the Journal reported, citing one other presentation.

Twenty-two million teenagers within the United States use Instagram each day, the paper mentioned.

Facebook, which claims to welcome collaboration with Congress, has refused to make the analysis obtainable to lawmakers, saying its information is proprietary. Reached by Gizmodo, a Facebook spokesperson mentioned the corporate wouldn’t touch upon the letter.

Members of the Senate Commerce Committee mentioned Facebook has confirmed to be incapable of holding itself accountable, saying it’s “growth-at-all-costs” strategy locations earnings above “the health and lives of children and teens.”

“When given the opportunity to come clean to us about their knowledge of Instagram’s impact on young users, Facebook provided evasive answers that were misleading and covered up clear evidence of significant harm,” the lawmakers mentioned.

Markey, Castor, and Trahan mentioned Wednesday that the once-secret paperwork underscore “Facebook’s responsibility to fundamentally change its approach to engaging with children and teens online.” The firm might start to take action, they mentioned, by abandoning its plans to launch an Instagram app immediately concentrating on kids.

“As the internet—and social media specifically—becomes increasingly engrained in children and teens’ lives, we are deeply concerned that your company continues to fail in its obligation to protect young users and has yet to commit to halt its plans to launch new platforms targeting children and teens,” the lawmaker’s letter to Zuckerberg mentioned.

BuzzFeed News revealed in March that Facebook was planning to construct a model of Instagram meant for youngsters underneath the age of 13. Adam Mosseri, the pinnacle of Instagram, confirmed the corporate was exploring the concept on the time.

Facebook painted the idea as a “solution” to the challenges of age-verification throughout its platforms; a platform with stronger controls and transparency for folks. Critics say the trillion-dollar enterprise is motivated purely by revenue and a need to hook younger children on its merchandise at an earlier age to allow them to be monetized as customers down the highway—a lot in the best way YouTube Kids at the moment drives younger customers to its 13+ platform.

Nearly all of Facebook’s earnings stem from commercials that concentrate on its customers based mostly on an evaluation of their on-line habits.

The lawmakers’ letter moreover requested particular questions of Zuckerberg, reminiscent of whether or not he’d personally reviewed the analysis into psychological harms brought on by Instagram. Zuckerberg was additionally requested to reveal any future plans at his firm to focus on kids and to disclose how lengthy Facebook had been learning the impression of his merchandise on teenagers’ psychological well being.

“In light of this new evidence, we strongly urge you to cease all efforts to launch any new platforms for children or teens,” the lawmakers mentioned.

You can learn the complete letter from Markey’s workplace embedded under.