In a recent US Congress hearing with the world’s social media giants, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shook off questions raised on concerns about children’s use of Instagram on Thursday (local time).
In a virtual meeting, titled US Congressional Hearing, major tech CEOs, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, were asked to respond to queries regarding the spread of disinformation through web-based media.
Mashable India reported that questions during the hearing ranged from nuanced and thematic requests on the occasions pointing to the unrest in the capital to conspiracy theories such as Facebook’s involvement in border smugglers.
Only a few congress members asked Zuckerberg how adolescents and young people specifically use the Facebook platform like Instagram. Through this, the members wanted to understand how Facebook protects children and protects their private data.
Subsequently, Zuckerberg replied that the platform ensures the safety of children. He affirmed the same, stating, “It is generally positive to help people keep in touch with friends and learn more about a variety of content online.
“The question arose after the hot topic messages from Facebook surfaced, suggesting that the company’s photo-sharing app was working to develop a platform for children under the age of 13. Currently under the Childhood Online Protection Act (COPA)) users must be over the age of 13 to use Instagram. With parenting groups concerned about the turn of events, they’ve asked Facebook for some time about online media coercion, harassment, and the way to do it Learn about the time spent on the Internet Media adversely affects emotional wellbeing.
According to Mashable India, this was a question from Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) when citing a series of devastating studies on the subject, to which Zuckerberg could only reply, “Congressmen, I am aware of the problems.” Zuckerberg gave below to the survey that there are children who lie about their age and still find their way onto the platform. This is one of the reasons Facebook is researching Instagram for kids, he said. However, Zuckerberg admitted that there are indeed children who lie about their age and still discover their direction on the platform. This is one of the main reasons Facebook is researching Instagram for teens. “
We think early about how this service would work. There are clearly a large number of people under the age of 13 who want to use a service like Instagram, “Zuckerberg replied to a question from Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL).
However, Castor, who was not satisfied with Zuckerberg’s answer to her question, drew attention to the idea, saying, “You know that our children’s brains and social development are still developing at a young age. There are reasons for this, the law, that we put that [13-year-old age limit] because these platforms ignored it. You benefited from it. We will strengthen the law.
