Religious Leaders, Rabbis And Pastors Ask Meta To Cancel Kids' Version Of Instagram

JAKARTA - Pastors, rabbis and other religious leaders in the US, urged Meta Platform Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to permanently stop the company's plans to launch a new version of Instagram aimed at young users, on Tuesday, February 8. The call was made in a letter sent by advocacy group Fairplay and the Children's Screen Time Action Network.

Since last September, Instagram has halted plans to introduce a version of the photo-sharing app for children, as opposition to the project grew.

"After much meditation and prayer, we affirm that social media platforms that target the immature brain, practice unethical data mining, and are inspired by the profit motive are not tools for the greater good of children," said the letter, which was signed by more than 70 religious leaders, quoted by Reuters.

Instagram and its parent company, Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook, have come under intense scrutiny over the potential impact their services have on the mental health, body image and safety of young users, including after whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents about the company's approach to younger users. .

In December, Instagram's CEO, Adam Mosseri, was asked about children's online safety by a Senate panel in the US. A coalition of state attorneys general has also opened an investigation into Meta for promoting Instagram to children despite the potential dangers.

Meta said the leaked documents had been used to paint a false picture of the company's work. Adam also said that the idea of Instagram for kids was to provide a safer and dedicated place for younger users to engage with the service.

Instagram, like other social media sites, has rules that prohibit children under 13 from joining the platform, but they also say they know they have users under that age.

The letter from the religious group, which cites the Bible, the Koran, Pope Francis and the Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh, calls on Zuckerberg, as someone who has in the past said religion is "very important," to recognize spiritual as well as secular concerns about the project. .

Reuters reported last year about Meta's unified outreach to religious communities in its efforts to drive engagement on its platform. The company, which has a dedicated faith partnership team, launched a new feature for requesting and sending prayers on the site, delivered a mini kit for worship streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic, and last year held its first virtual faith summit.