Could a Kids Version of Instagram Be on the Way?

According to Instagram’s CEO, the option for a kids’ version of the app is being left open.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri testified for the first time before Congress on Wednesday and told a Senate panel he remains proud of the platform’s efforts to keep young people safe, even after leaked internal documents left lawmakers furious about what they said was the company’s lack of action.

The CEO refused to commit to permanently ending the paused plans to create a version of the platform for kids under 13.

Mosseri told the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection that he is the ultimate decision-maker on the matter and that he would work to ensure no child between 10 and 12 years old would have access to any version of the platform without explicit parental consent.

Mosseris initial goal of creating a kids-focused product was to solve the problem of kids under 13 wanting to use Instagram and the difficulty for platforms across the industry to verify age.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee’s chair, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the lack of commitment.

Blumenthal has said that industry solutions alone will not make the cut. “Self-policing depends on trust,” Blumenthal said. “Trust is gone.”

Mosseri said that “keeping young people safe online is not just about one company” and stressed a need for “industry-wide solutions and standards.”

He said Meta owned Instagram has called for “updated regulations” for years and proposed an industry body to set best practices around questions of how to verify age online and design age-appropriately.

Earlier in the week Instagram released several product updates meant to improve teen safety on the platform.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., the ranking member on the subcommittee remarked, “At 3:00am — which is midnight in Silicon Valley — you released a list of product updates you said would ‘raise the standard for protecting teens and supporting parents online,’” Blackburn said in her written remarks. “I’m not sure what hours you keep out there in California, but, where I’m from, that’s when you drop news that you don’t want people to see.”

Blackburn said, the measures were “too little, too late.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.