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Senators toast the social media giant after The Wall Street Journal reported that it knew Instagram was hurting teen mental health.
U.S. lawmakers have widely criticized Facebook Inc over the company’s plans to protect children who use its social media platforms, after a leaked internal investigation showed the social media giant was aware of how its app Instagram was taking a toll on the mental health of adolescents.
The Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing took place Thursday after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published articles about how Facebook knew its photo-sharing platform had brought in some teens , especially girls, feel bad about their self-image.
Amid growing questions, Facebook earlier this week hanging plans to expand Instagram Kids, saying he wanted “time to work with parents, experts, policy makers and regulators to listen to their concerns.”
In Thursday’s hearing, Facebook’s chief security officer Antigone Davis took issue with the way the WSJ described what the research showed. She also said the company is working to publish additional internal studies in an effort to be more transparent about its findings.
Facebook’s Antigone Davis is seen on screen as she testifies before a Senate subcommittee on Thursday [Tom Brenner/Pool via Reuters]“We care deeply about the safety and security of the people on our platform,” said Davis. “We take the issue very seriously… We have put in place several safeguards to create safe and age-appropriate experiences for people between the ages of 13 and 17. “
But Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal was not convinced, calling the findings of the internal report a “bomb”.
“This is powerful, startling and fascinating proof that Facebook knows about the harmful effects of its site on children, and that it has hidden these facts and conclusions,” he said at the hearing.
Democratic Senator Edward Markey added, “IG stands for Instagram, but also Insta-greed. “
‘Very overwhelming’
Comparisons to the tobacco industry’s cover-ups of the harmful effects of cigarettes abounded in a session that brought together U.S. senators from the two main parties to criticize Facebook and Instagram, a platform that Facebook has owned since 2012 and is valued at $ 100 billion.
Patty Culhane of Al Jazeera, reporting from Washington, DC, said congressional hearings could “eventually lead to new regulations not just on Instagram and Facebook, but all social media, on how they market to consumers. children “.
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri also challenged the WSJ’s findings on Monday.
“The recent WSJ reporting on our research into the experiences of adolescents on Instagram raised a lot of questions for people. To be clear, I don’t agree with how the Journal reported on our research,” he said in a statement.
But Danny Weiss, head of advocacy at Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that focuses on improving the impact of technology on children, said the internal investigation report is indeed “a bomb ”.
“The WSJ’s findings through a whistleblower are very damning for Facebook and the way it operates, as well as Facebook’s attitude towards children and teens – a special group of people in need of special extra protections “Weiss told Al Jazeera. .
He said parents need to be better informed about what their kids are up to on social media, and tech companies need to do better to minimize the reach of toxic content on their platforms. Finally, said Weiss, “there is a clear need for governments to step in and hold tech companies to account.”
A second hearing is scheduled for Tuesday and will feature a Facebook whistleblower.
The whistleblower is expected to reveal his identity Sunday in an interview recorded for 60 Minutes, a US news program. In a preview, the show described the woman as a former Facebook employee who walked away with tens of thousands of search pages.
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