US Legislators ask Facebook about its Instagram Regulations for Youngsters

Following Facebook revelation that it was aware of how its Instagram app harmed adolescent mental health, US lawmakers slammed the company’s efforts to protect youngsters who use its services.Faced with increasing doubts, stopped plans to create Instagram Kids earlier this week, stating that it needed “time to engage with parents, professionals, lawmakers, and authorities to listen to their concerns.”

Antigone Davis, Facebook Head of Global Security, contested the way the WSJ reported the research findings at Thursday’s hearing. She also stated that the firm was focusing on releasing more internal research in order to be more honest about its findings.“We are very concerned about the safety and security of our platform users,” Davis added. “We take the matter very seriously. We have implemented a variety of measures to guarantee that persons aged 13 to 17 have a safe and age-appropriate experience.”

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, though, was unimpressed, calling the internal report’s conclusions “a bombshell.”“It is compelling, gripping, captivating proof that Facebook is aware of the negative impacts of its site on minors and has suppressed those facts and findings,” he stated during the hearing.

Parallels to the tobacco industry’s cover-ups of cigarettes’ detrimental consequences abound in a session that brought together US senators from both major parties to attack Facebook and Instagram, a site that Facebook has controlled since 2012 and is valued at $100B.“Recent WSJ reporting on our study into teen Instagram experiences has generated a lot of worries for folks.