Instagram for Kids is put on Hold

On September 27, Facebook announced that it is putting on hold its work on a kids’ version of Instagram.  Reports in March of 2021 indicated that Facebook was planning to create a version of the application specifically targeting children under the age of 13.   Since then, Facebook has received harsh criticism for the plan and intense scrutiny of its current relationship with children.

The announcement came after senators announced an investigation into Facebook’s negative effects on teenagers.  Consumer protection advocacy groups, in general, and Fairplay, in particular have Facebook in their sights.  Even the Wall Street Journal did its part.  It produced some powerful reporting which indicated that Facebook is aware of Facebook’s subsidiary, Instagram’s harmful effects on users.

Facebook’s own studies found that Instagram was influential on suicidal thoughts.  Among teens who reported suicidal thoughts, 13% of British users and 6% of American users traced the suicidal thoughts to Instagram.  Nearly a third of teen girls were made to feel worse about their bodies because of Instagram.  About 14% of boys in the US said Instagram made them feel worse about themselves.

Putting Instagram Kids on hold is probably the right decision for Facebook.  Even without it, they’ve managed to attract a lot of negative publicity.  In response to the Wall Street Journal findings, Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rohit Chopra tweeted regarding Facebook, “Given the financial incentives embedded in its surveillance-based business model, it is yet another sign that the company cannot be trusted with our data.”

Speaking of which, many companies share data with Facebook nonetheless through third-party cookies.  Thankfully, Clarip can help with cookie consents and vendor risk management software.  If your organization needs help with vendor risk management or cookie consents, contact us at www.clarip.com or call Clarip at 1-888-252-5653 for a demo.