Facebook has announced that it won’t be canceling its plans to create Instagram for kids under 13 even though lawmakers had warned severely on the implications.
The social media company themed it “a new Instagram experience for tweens” in a recent blog post and according to them, it will go a long way to allay the rate at which kids lie about their age to secure an account with the platform. Also, it will be managed by parents and guardians of the teens.
“The reality is that they’re already online, and with no foolproof way to stop people from misrepresenting their age, we want to build experiences designed specifically for them, managed by parents and guardians,” the post said.
As part of the safety measures, users under age 16 will be set in private by default to ward off unwarranted communication from strangers and also protect them from adverts, not within their age range.
It should be recalled that in March, BuzzFeed News published a memo from the company explaining in details plans to build a milder version of the app for kids with a proposed name ‘Instagram Youth’. The news didn’t sit well with the lawmakers as in May, 44 attorneys general signed a letter addressed to Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, warning that the intended was going to be detrimental for mental health and privacy. Similar concerns were also communicated by some child safety groups.
Facebook said it plans to work with lawmakers, elected officials, and child development and safety experts across its various efforts to ensure they are on the same page.
To properly verify age, Facebook will deploy the use of artificial intelligence. The tool is designed in a way that it can search an Instagram post with the use of keywords, for instance, a happy birthday message to verify it with the user’s date of birth filled on Facebook.
“We plan to apply this technology across our apps to create more age-appropriate experiences and safety measures for young people,” the company said.
However, the explanation from Facebook, the announcement to introduce Instagram Youth is still criticized with experts demanding more clarity.
Josh Golin, executive director at Fairplay, a child advocacy group described the move as “a step in the right direction.” But he said “full transparency around how they are implemented” is needed.
“The fact that Facebook appears to be offering better safeguards for teens, however, does not change the fact that Instagram Youth is a terrible idea and will do more harm than good,” Golin said. “It is extremely disappointing that Facebook is planning on plowing ahead despite the outcry from lawmakers, regulators, experts, advocates, and hundreds of thousands of parents.”
“The safest Instagram for younger children remains no Instagram at all,” he added.
Speaking on the Breakfast Club radio show on Tuesday, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram said that he envisaged that Instagram for kids will get a lot of heat but maintained that it is the right thing to do.
“It leaked before we were ready to talk about it, so we don’t have a lot of the answers yet, but it is definitely something that we’re working on because it’s something I personally believe will be a much healthier, safer place,” he said.
So far, the company has not yet announced a release date for the Instagram version for kids.
