Facebook Says It Will 'Pause' Efforts to Build Instagram Kids Amid Backlash

Facebook is halting it’s plans for Instagram Kids.

On Monday (September 27), the company revealed that it will “pause” development of the new app, a social media service aimed at children under 13, after backlash from child advocates, parents and lawmakers.

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Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the news in a blog post.

“We’ll use this time to work with parents, experts and policymakers to demonstrate the value and need for this product,” he wrote.

“I have three children and their safety is the most important thing in my life. I hear the concerns with this project, and we’re announcing these steps today so we can get it right,” Adam continued.

The decision to halt the project comes after a report in the Wall Street Journal showed that Facebook repeatedly found its Instagram app is harmful to many teenagers. Pratiti Raychoudhury, head of research at Facebook, disputed the claims in a blog post on Sunday.

In the blog post, Adam added that Facebook still believes in Instagram Kids.

“We started this project to address an important problem seen across our industry: kids are getting phones younger and younger, misrepresenting their age, and downloading apps that are meant for those 13 or older,” he wrote.

“We firmly believe that it’s better for parents to have the option to give their children access to a version of Instagram that is designed for them — where parents can supervise and control their experience — than relying on an app’s ability to verify the age of kids who are too young to have an ID,” he said.

Instagram recently announced they were making a big change to the app. Find out more here…