Instagram, Adam Mosseri, announced today that the tech company is pausing its efforts in developing a kids’ version of the photo-sharing app.
“I still firmly believe that it’s a good thing to build a version of Instagram that’s designed to be safe for tweens, but we want to take the time to talk to parents and researchers and safety experts and get to more consensus about how to move forward,” he told TODAY. “If anybody leaves using Instagram feeling worse about themselves, that’s an important issue we need to take seriously and that we need to figure out how to address.”
“We think a healthier place to end up is to have a version of Instagram that was designed for tweens that parents have the option to give their kids access to,” Mosseri said.
Instagram claims they are already working on an app feature that addresses body image issues, urging users to look into other topics while using the app, and taking social media breaks.
“We’re going to take the time to work with parents, policymakers, regulators, experts, to demonstrate why this project is valuable and how it helps keep teens safe,” he wrote. “Critics will see this as a concession that the project is a bad idea. That’s not it.”
According to Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, Instagram should cancel the app entirely.
“They should go ahead and fully pull the plug on it, but it’s an important step, and it’s good that, for the first time, Facebook is listening to the near-unanimous voices telling them that this is an incredibly harmful idea for children,” he said. “It feels really good to be listened to and that we were able to mobilize so many people and voices against this idea, and it’s testament to the growing power of the tech accountability movement.”
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