Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Friday urged Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to finish its new map function on Instagram.
In a letter, first obtained by NBC News, the bipartisan lawmakers argued that the new tool, which shares Instagram customers’ final energetic location with followers, may endanger youngsters.
“For years, we have now sounded the alarm relating to actual time location sharing on social media platforms — particularly relating to underage customers — and we once more urge you to guard youngsters’s security as an alternative of doubtless exposing their location to harmful people on-line, together with pedophiles and traffickers,” the senators wrote.
The Hill has reached out to Meta for remark.
Customers should decide in to make use of the device and may decide out at any time, in response to an Aug. 6 launch from Meta. They’ll additionally choose which followers can see their areas.
Mother and father which have supervision over their kid’s account also can management the placement settings and can obtain a notification if the kid adjustments it.
However the congressional duo on Friday cited examples of some shoppers reporting that their location was shared with out consent.
“This addition is a reason behind explicit concern for us relating to youngsters and teenagers which might be energetic on Instagram,” the senators added.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri on Thursday said that the corporate is working to challenge design enhancements “as rapidly as potential.”
Each Blackburn and Blumenthal have lengthy expressed considerations over baby security on Meta social media platforms reminiscent of Instagram and Fb.
In April, the senators wrote a letter to the corporate warning that “the corporate is failing to guard underage customers from sexually specific discussions with a brand new class of AI-powered digital chatbots.”
Blackburn and Blumenthal additionally sponsored the Kids Online Safety Act final 12 months, which handed the Senate final summer season. It didn’t cross the Home, they usually reintroduced the laws in Could.
“We urge you to right away abandon Instagram’s map function and as an alternative institute significant protections for kids on-line —they deserve nothing much less,” the senators wrote within the Friday letter.