Keep kids under 13 off Instagram, advocacy group tells Zuckerberg

A non-profit called on Facebook’s chief to cancel plans to launch an Instagram platform for preteen kids.

An advocacy group on Thursday urged Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to cancel plans to launch a version of the popular photo-sharing app Instagram for children under 13, saying that it would put the preteens at “great risk”. “Instagram, in particular, exploits young people’s fear of missing out and desire for peer approval to encourage children and teens to constantly check their devices and share photos with their followers,” the letter (PDF) from the non-profit organisation Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) said. BuzzFeed News last month reported that Instagram is planning to launch a version for preteen kids.