(Washington) Instagram “can help” young people in difficulty, and “works for the good” of adolescents, said Wednesday his boss Adam Mosseri during his hearing before the US Congress, taking the opposite view of recent accusations against the social network, in the face of parliamentarians who affirmed the contrary.
“Sometimes young people go to Instagram when they are going through difficult things in their lives,” said the man who has run this subsidiary of Facebook (now Meta) for three years. “I think Instagram can help a lot of them in these times. ”
For two and a half hours, the former entrepreneur did not seem to give in for a single second to the pressure of the moment, responding calmly to the senators who nevertheless stormed criticism of him.
He rolled out a list of steps Instagram has taken to make the platform safer for younger users, while defending internal search results that have recently been leaked and fueled criticism of the social network.
One of the studies, from 2019, found that Instagram reflects a negative personal image for a third of girls under 20.
Another study, from 2020, showed that 32% of teenage girls felt that using the social network had worsened their body image when they were already dissatisfied with it.
“Facebook’s own research has alerted management, including you, for years to the damaging impact of Instagram on adolescent mental health,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the protection subcommittee, told him. consumers before which Mr Mosseri was speaking.
PHOTO ERIN SCOTT, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal chairs the subcommittee on consumer protection which heard from the boss of Instagram on Wednesday.
However, Facebook “continued to take advantage of this disturbing content because it meant more traffic, advertising and dollars,” said the elected Democrat.
“We have the same goal,” replied Adam Mosseri, “we want young users to be safe on the internet”. The manager undertook, at the request of Mr. Blumenthal, to provide access to part of the product of his internal research. He also said he was in favor of a new regulatory framework for technology companies.
Mr Mosseri refused to publicly renounce the creation of an Instagram for under 13s, simply promising that the social network would not create accounts for 10-12 year olds that can be created without parental consent.
“A little empathy”
Buried by the senators under the examples of young people victims of what elected officials consider to be the failings of the social network, the thirty-something in a dark suit and tie defended Instagram step by step, politely but firmly.
“We are talking to you about young people who harm themselves, who receive information that destroys their lives, and we ask you to show a little empathy,” said Marsha Blackburn, leader of the Republicans within of the subcommittee. “And it looks like you can’t do it. ”
Adam Mosseri said he was in favor of creating an organization to define best practices for the sector.
But the idea did not appeal to senators, who intend to go “much further than what you have proposed”, replied Richard Blumenthal.
Self-regulation, based on trust, is no longer a viable solution. […] The legislation is coming.
Richard Blumenthal, senator who chairs the subcommittee on consumer protection
In mid-November, several US states launched an investigation into whether Meta, Facebook’s new name, had deliberately let children and teens use Instagram knowing that the platform could harm their mental and physical health.
On the eve of the hearing, Instagram had announced a series of measures intended to strengthen the protection of the youngest.
In particular, the application will prevent users from mentioning in their posts teenagers who are not subscribed to their profile. She had already reported on private minors by default when they signed up.
The social network will also offer, in March 2022, tools to allow parents to see how much time their children spend on the application and set limits. They will soon have access to an information center with tutorials and expert advice.
Another new feature is that Instagram is launching the “Take a break” option in all major English-speaking markets, which will suggest that users stop scrolling through content on the app for a while.
Senator Blumenthal called these measures “small steps”, “not impressive”. ” Pause ? “, Said the elected official,” that’s not what will save children from the addictive effects “of Instagram.