Tara Hopkins, Instagram Global Public Policy Director, spoke about Fox Business and new built-in protection.
R-Tenn. Marsha Blackburn sesh, and Richard Blumenthal (d-conn.) are promoting New Map Features for Instagram To close it, raise questions about potential risks to child safety.
In a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday, lawmakers argued that children can do harm after the new map tools are rolled out.
“For years, we’ve been sounding alarms when it comes to real-time location sharing on social media platforms, especially minor users, and again urges us to protect the safety of our children, rather than potentially exposing our place to dangerous individuals online, including pedophiles and human traffickers,” the letter reads.
Instagram users can choose to use the Map Tool and also choose which followers can see their location, Meta said in a press release. Users can turn off the feature at any time. The user location is updated whenever you open the app or when it returns to the app if it is running in the background.
Robby Starbuck, Meta settles lawsuit over AI chatbot’s claim of defamation
Instagram’s new map tool allows users to share live locations with their followers. (Getty Images)
The new features will be turned off until users opt in, the press release noted.
Meta also said that when a child starts sharing their location, parents with their app supervision will receive notifications.
“A parent with a teenage supervision can control the sharing experience on the map,” the press release said. “You get notifications when teens start sharing their locations and have an important conversation about how to safely share with friends. You can determine whether teens have access to location sharing on the map, and see who teens share their locations.”
Instagram head Adam Mosseri said Thursday that the company is working on design improvements “as soon as possible.”
However, despite the claim that user locations will be turned off unless the new tool is enabled, the senator said some reported that their locations were automatically shared without consent.
Senators will slam Big Tech’s role in “pirated” copyrighted books for AI training purposes
R-Tenn. Marsha Blackburn sesh and D-Conn. Richard Blumenthal is pushing for shutting down new map features on Instagram. (Photo: Anna Money Maker / Getty Images / Getty Images)
“This addition is a source of particular concern for us regarding the children and teens who are active on Instagram,” the lawmaker wrote. “Meta’s platform is consciously designed to prioritize benefits over the protection of our children, our most vulnerable users.”
“Meta claims that parents with supervisory settings on their child’s accounts manage positioning, but it is clear that existing parental controls are not sufficient,” the letter continued. “Meta makes it difficult for parents to fully understand or utilize parental control, leading to abuse, exploitation and harm to these precious children.”
Blackburn and Blumenthal further argued that Meta’s track record is “bad” when it comes to protecting children online.
“You know, children accept requests for follow-up from individuals that they don’t know,” the lawmaker wrote. “You can allow children to share real-time locations and take photos of strangers (many of which could be pedophiles or traffickers, but you’ll only increase the risk that your kids will face online due to your inaction.”
The letter accused Meta of “repeated.” Congress passes the law.
In a letter to meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday, lawmakers argued that children can do harm after the new map tool is rolled out. (Getty Images/Getty Images)
Click here to get your Fox business on the go
Blackburn and Blumenthal have previously expressed concern about protecting children’s safety on Meta’s social media platform. Instagram and Facebook.
Last year, the pair sponsored the Online Safety Act for Children who passed the Senate last summer but did not pass the House. This scale was reintroduced in May.
The senator also wrote a letter to Meta in April, asking for allegations that the company “cannot protect minor users from sexually explicit discussions with the new class of AI-driven digital chatbots.”
“Allowing minors to geography on your platform is just the latest example of this sad reality,” the lawmaker wrote Friday. “We recommend quickly abandoning Instagram’s maps feature and instead enacting meaningful protections for children online.
Fox Business reached out to Meta for comment.
