New York Joins 43 US States Seeking Facebook Drop 'Instagram For Kids' - Attorney General

New York Joins 43 US States Seeking Facebook Drop 'Instagram for Kids' - Attorney General

New York Attorney General Letitia James has joined the attorney-generals in 43 other US states that seek Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to drop plans to launch Instagram for children aged below 13 years, a statement from the state Attorney General's Office said on Monday

NEW YORK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2021) New York Attorney General Letitia James has joined the attorney-generals in 43 other US states that seek Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to drop plans to launch Instagram for children aged below 13 years, a statement from the state Attorney General's Office said on Monday.

James sent Zuckerberg a letter saying the coalition of 44 attorney generals were of the opinion that social media can be detrimental to children for a variety of reasons and Facebook has historically failed to protect the welfare of children on its platforms.

"Without a doubt, this is a dangerous idea that risks the safety of our children and puts them directly in harm's way," the statement said. "There are too many concerns to let Facebook move forward with this ill-conceived idea, which is why we are calling on the company to abandon its launch of Instagram kids."

James said data and research have shown a strong link between young people's use of social media and an increase in mental distress, self-injurious behavior and suicide.

"Instagram has been frequently flagged for increasing suicidal ideation, depression, and body image concerns in children," the statement said.

The coalition of 44 attorneys general also have concerns about Facebook's ability to comply with relevant privacy laws, such as the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the statement said.

James said the attorneys general were of the opinion that young children were not equipped to handle the many challenges that came with having an Instagram account, including the lack of an ability to understand privacy, the statement added.

At a hearing in the US Congress in March, Zuckerberg dismissed the idea that social media was harmful to children.

In December, a coalition of 48 attorney generals and the US Federal Trade Commission sued Facebook for anti-competitive practices, demanding it divest its interests in Instagram and popular social communications platform WhatsApp.