You know what's never a good look? Delivering the patented Zuckerberg blank stare to questions about the well-being of kids.
Big Tech CEOs Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Jack Dorsey of Twitter had to answer questions about disinformation on social media in a virtual congressional hearing Thursday. As has been the case with every other hearing, questions ran the gamut from nuanced and on-topic inquiries about the events that led up to the capitol riots, to conspiracy-theory informed accusations like how Facebook was empowering border smugglers.
Zuckerberg faced questioning from a few members of Congress about how children and teens use Facebook's platforms — Instagram in particular. Members on both sides of the aisle wanted to know what Facebook is doing to keep kids safe, safeguard their private information, and, ya know, not profit off of a potential budding social media addiction.
Zuckerberg assured Congress that the kids on Instagram are alright. He delivered detailed, bold statements like: "Helping people stay connected with friends and learn about different content online is broadly positive."
Thanks for clearing that up, Mark.
Kids on Instagram was a hot topic because BuzzFeed broke the news last week that the popular photo-sharing app is working on a platform for children under the age of 13. Currently, in accordance with Childhood Online Protection Act (COPA), users have to be over 13 to use Instagram.
Parents groups are concerned about the development and have been asking Facebook for a long time to do more about social media addiction, bullying, and the ways time spent on social media negatively impact mental health.
That was a sentiment blisteringly delivered by Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) as she cited a number of devastating studies on the topic, to which Zuckerberg could only respond: "Congresswoman, I'm aware of the issues."
What a relief!
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Zuckerberg acknowledged under questioning that, yes, there are kids who lie about their age and still find their way onto the platform. It's one of the reasons why Facebook's exploring Instagram for kids, he said.
“We’re early in thinking through how this service would work," Zuckerberg said in response to a question from Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL). "There is clearly a large number of people under the age of 13 who would want to use a service like Instagram.”
Castor did not readily accept Zuckerberg's milquetoast answer to her question about kids under 13 finding their way onto Instagram.
"The problem is that you know it," Castor said. "You know that the brain and social development of our kids is still evolving at a young age. There are reasons in the law that we set that [13-year-old age limit] because these platforms have ignored it. They've profited off of it. We're going to strengthen the law."
Instagram for Kids just got put on notice.
