Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has released a statement in response to Instagram pausing their plans to develop “Instagram Kids” for users under the age of 13.
“While this is a step in the right direction, it falls short of acknowledging the detrimental effect a kid-specific version of the platform will have on those who primarily haven’t yet been exposed to social media,” said Attorney General Nessel. “It’s especially concerning that this pause was the sole update announced following the release of concerning data that quantifies that effect, which has been at the company’s fingertips throughout the development process.”
Attorney General Nessel continued, “Mr. Mosseri, in his statement, suggests providing a kids-only Instagram will address problems because ‘kids are already online.’ That’s demonstrably false. Launching Instagram Kids will only pose threats to security and overall wellbeing while further profiting from society’s obsession with social media.”
Attorney General Nessel had joined a coalition of 44 attorneys general back in May that urged Facebook to abandon their plans to launch the kids version of Instagram.
Facebook has not responded directly to the coalition as of Friday.
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