AGS URGE FACEBOOK TO SHELVE PLANS FOR ‘INSTAGRAM FOR KIDS’

A group of 40 state attorneys general on Monday urged Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to abandon plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13. “Use of social media can be detrimental to the health and well-being of children, who are not equipped to navigate the challenges of having a social media account,” the officials said in a letter. “Further, Facebook has historically failed to protect the welfare of children on its platforms,” they said. The letter also signed by the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories. A Facebook spokesman said the company has “just started exploring a version of Instagram for kids” and said it was committing “to not showing ads in any Instagram experience we develop for people under the age of 13.”