In a bipartisan effort, U.S. lawmakers are calling for Meta to disable Instagram's new map feature, citing significant child safety risks. The feature, which allows users to share their location and view geotagged content through an interactive map in direct messages, has raised alarms among legislators who fear it could expose minors to online predators.
Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal have jointly urged Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to remove the map and implement more robust safety measures. In their letter, they emphasized the need for stronger protections to prevent potential exploitation of children on the platform.
In response, Meta has stated that the Instagram Map feature is disabled by default, and live location sharing only occurs if users choose to enable it. Instagram head Adam Mosseri further clarified that users can limit location sharing to close friends or mutual followers. Despite these assurances, lawmakers remain concerned that the current safeguards are insufficient to protect children effectively.
The controversy surrounding Instagram's map feature highlights the broader issue of online safety for minors. Recent legislative actions, such as the proposed Kids Online Safety Act , aim to hold tech companies accountable for the safety of young users. KOSA seeks to establish a "duty of care" for social media platforms, focusing on the design and regulation of their services to better protect children.
As the debate continues, child safety advocates stress the importance of ongoing vigilance and proactive measures to safeguard minors in the digital age. They call for comprehensive strategies that include both technological solutions and legislative reforms to address the evolving challenges of online child safety.
