In a move described by the New York Times as a 'rare reversal', Facebook has paused development of its 13-years-and-under platform Instagram Youth. Announcement comes as Facebook faces global condemnation for failing to disclose research demonstrating Instagram’s harms to girls.
From @nytimes:
‘Opposition to Facebook’s plans gained momentum this month when The [Wall Street] Journal @WSJ published articles based on leaked internal documents that showed Facebook knew about many of the harms it was causing.
‘Opposition to Facebook’s plans gained momentum this month when The [Wall Street] Journal @WSJ published articles based on leaked internal documents that showed Facebook knew about many of the harms it was causing.
'Facebook’s internal research showed that Instagram, in particular, had caused teen girls to feel worse about their bodies and led to increased rates of anxiety and depression, even while company executives publicly tried to minimize the app’s downsides.
‘On Thursday, Facebook’s global head of safety, Antigone Davis, is scheduled to testify at a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing titled “Protecting Kids Online: Facebook, Instagram and Mental Health Harms.”’
Read more: nytimes.com/2021/09/27/tec…
Read more: nytimes.com/2021/09/27/tec…
In May we joined a global coalition of anti-sexploitation + child safety advocacy groups calling on Facebook to dump its plans for Instagram Youth. We’ve seen the way girls are sexualised, groomed + exploited by predators on Instagram - even on ‘parent-controlled’ accounts.
We’re pleased to see Instagram Youth put on hold for now, but we are not confident Facebook won’t revive the plan, given its history.
Read more about our call to Facebook to dump its plans for Instagram Youth: collectiveshout.org/tags/instagram…
Read more about our call to Facebook to dump its plans for Instagram Youth: collectiveshout.org/tags/instagram…
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