Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery joined a coalition of 44 state, district, and territorial prosecutors in a Monday letter urging Facebook to abandon its plan for a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13.
In March, Buzzfeed News uncovered the Instagram plan via an internal company memo. Facebook confirmed the plan later that month.
Slatery panned the plan in the letter and in a statement Monday.
“Let’s not take their word for it that this time — and with a product specifically created for children — is going to be any different.”
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery
“Facebook has a record of failing to protect the safety and privacy of children,” Slatery said. “Let’s not take their word for it that this time — and with a product specifically created for children — is going to be any different.”
The attorneys general said they were concerned that “social media can be harmful to the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of children,” that the new platform could increase cyberbullying, and online predators could use the platform to target children.
“As recently articulated by dozens of organizations and experts, ‘Instagram … exploits young people’s fear of missing out and desire for peer approval to encourage children and teens to constantly check their devices and share photos with their followers,’ and ‘the platform’s relentless focus on appearance, self-presentation, and branding presents challenges to adolescents’ privacy and well-being,’” reads the letter.
The prosecutors also said that children are not equipped to handle the “range of challenges” that come with having an Instagram account. Nor do they understand privacy, the letter said.
The group also cast doubt on Facebook’s ability to protect children on their proposed Instagram platform and comply with privacy laws like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). For this, they pointed to Facebook’s Messenger Kids app which contained a glitch that allowed children to circumvent restrictions and join group chats with strangers.
The letter was signed by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Nebraska, Vermont, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
