Maryland AG Joins Coalition Calling For Facebook To Not Launch Instagram Kids
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh joined a coalition of 44 attorney generals urging Facebook to not launch Instagram Kids, a version of the app for children 13 and under.
There are concerns over the safety and well-being of children and the ways social media can hurt them.
In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the coalition cited these reasons and how the social media giant has failed to protect the welfare of children on its platforms.
"Facebook's Instagram for children is a dangerous idea," says Attorney General Frosh. "Facebook should be working to protect children on its social media platforms, and this new app opens another door through which a very vulnerable population can be exploited."
The various attorney's general brought up research on social media and it's effects on children, cyberbullying and the use of vulnerability of children from adults that prey on them online. Instagram has been flagged in the past for increasing suicidal thoughts, depression and body image concerns.