Facebook halts ‘Instagram Kids’ app project after criticism

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Washington: Facebook is suspending development of Instagram Kids, a version of the photo-sharing app for children under 13.

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri broke the news in a blog post, saying the Facebook-owned company will continue to work on parent-supervised experiences for young users, The Verge reported.

In the blog post and accompanying series of tweets, Mosseri criticized critics for misunderstanding the app’s purpose.

“It was never intended for young children, but for pre-teens (ages 10 to 12),” he wrote.

In another tweet, he added that news of the project “had leaked long before we knew what it would be. People feared the worst, and we’ve had little response at this point. Clearly we have to take it. more time on this. “

The suspension of work on the app comes after a prominent publication posted a series of damning reports on Facebook last week.

These included a story revealing how Instagram’s own internal research suggested the app was making teenage girls’ bodily problems worse. Facebook said the reports misrepresented the company’s studies, but it has so far refused to release its first-hand data for critics and supporters to analyze.

The development of a version of Instagram aimed at younger users has been widely criticized by a number of groups.

Facebook responded to this criticism by saying that young people are already active online and that their experience is best framed. The company also said it will not run ads on the new app. However, the critics were not convinced.

Mosseri noted on Twitter that critics would see Instagram suspending development of the children’s app “as a concession that the project is a bad idea.”

He added: “I have to believe parents would rather have their kids use an age-appropriate version of Instagram – which gives them oversight – rather than the alternative. But I’m not here to play down their concerns, we are. have to get that right. “

According to Variety, the critics included more than 40 state attorneys general who urged Facebook to kill the project, raising red flags, including research showing that social media can harm children’s emotional and mental well-being.

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