Facebook said it is pausing Instagram Kids, its planned Instagram service for children under the age of 13. The service came under fire from politicians and advocacy groups, who found such a service would be neither safe nor appropriate for young children. A coalition of 35 consumer advocacy groups and 64 child experts in child development co-signed a letter opposing the service to Facebook in April, and members of the US Congress more recently announced plans to investigate Instagram's impact on young people.
The announcement follows a report by the Wall Street Journal claiming that Facebook knew its services could have a harmful effect on some young people and did not open up on the research or address the issues. Facebook said it still believes building Instagram Kids is the "right thing to do" but that it will pause the project and work with parents, experts and policymakers to "demonstrate the value and need for this product".
The company said it wants to make sure parents have the option to give their children access to the Instagram version designed for kids. They will then be able to supervise and control the experience, Facebook said, rather than relying on an app’s ability to verify the age of kids who are too young to have an ID.
The company had a rebuttal for critics of Instagram Kids, who see the project as a bad idea: "That’s not the case. The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today," the company said, noting that YouTube and TikTok also have versions of their app for those under 13.
Facebook said Instagram Kids was aimed at tweens, people aged 10-12. Meanwhile, the company will continue to build opt-in parental supervision tools for teens.
Facebook earlier refuted a recent report in the Wall Street Journal that showed Instagram could have a negative impact on teens, affecting the body image of young women in particular.
