KEY POINTS
  • Attorneys general from 44 states and territories urged Facebook to abandon its plans to create an Instagram service for kids under the age of 13, citing detrimental health effects of social media on children and Facebook's reportedly checkered past of protecting children on its platform.
  • Monday's letter follows questioning from federal lawmakers who have also expressed concern over social media's impact on children.
  • Facebook committed to not show ads "in any Instagram experience we develop for people under the age of 13," a spokesperson said in a statement.

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Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill October 23, 2019 in Washington, DC. Zuckerberg testified about Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency Libra, how his company will handle false and misleading information by political leaders during the 2020 campaign and how it handles its users’ data and privacy.

Attorneys general from 44 states and territories urged Facebook to abandon its plans to create an Instagram service for kids under the age of 13, citing detrimental health effects of social media on kids and Facebook's reportedly checkered past of protecting children on its platform.

Monday's letter follows questioning from federal lawmakers who have also expressed concern over social media's impact on children. The topic was a major theme that emerged from lawmakers at a House hearing in March with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Republican staff for that committee later highlighted online protection for kids as the main principle lawmakers should consider in their legislation.

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