Friend, Last month, BuzzFeed News broke a troubling story: Facebook is planning to launch a version of Instagram aimed at children younger than 13 so they can “safely use Instagram for the first time.” We agree that Instagram isn’t safe for children, and Facebook needs to do something to protect the millions of kids who have lied about their age to create Instagram accounts. But creating a version of the app for kids simply isn’t the answer – it’s developmentally inappropriate, unsafe, and just plain wrong! So, CCFC is taking a stand. Today, we led a coalition of 100 leading advocates in privacy, public health, and child development, in urging Facebook to abandon its plans to create an Instagram for kids. Joining us are experts and advocates from 10 countries, including the creators of The Social Dilemma, the Center for Humane Technology, Common Sense, Public Citizen, Sherry Turkle, and Jean Twenge. Now, we need your support. Will you join us and tell Facebook to stop its plans to launch an Instagram for kids? |
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While Facebook might claim that the intended audience of a kid-friendly Instagram is the many 10- to 12- year-olds already on the main platform, these children are unlikely to migrate to a “babyish” version of Instagram. Instead, an Instagram for kids would lure in children without accounts, priming them to use the adult platform as soon as they get older. Now more than ever, what children really need is time to play, learn, and socialize away from digital devices, not their own version of an app that is relentlessly focused on branding, appearance, and self-presentation. For young children, the safest Instagram is no Instagram at all. The good news is that Instagram for kids is only in the early planning stages and Facebook is extremely vulnerable to public pressure. Our letter is already making waves around the world. Take a stand with us and tell Facebook: no Instagram for kids! Thanks for all you do, Josh Golin
Executive Director, CCFC |
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