Bipartisan Senators Urge Meta To Roll Back Instagram Maps Feature That Sparked Uproar

Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sent a missive to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg connected Friday calling connected nan institution to “immediately abandon” Instagram’s caller Map feature aft galore app users voiced their privateness concerns online.

The intent of nan maps feature, according to a property merchandise from Meta, is to supply a “lightweight” method for users to link pinch each different and research section happenings by allowing group to stock wherever they are successful existent time. Users tin entree their “maps” by going to their DMs.

But aft nan characteristic was rolled retired connected Wednesday, galore users began criticizing nan feature and suggested it could beryllium a consequence to their privateness and safety. Some users were alarmed that their geotagged stories were appearing connected Instagram Maps moreover erstwhile they opted retired of sharing their unrecorded location.

Meta has emphasized that “location sharing is disconnected unless you opt in.” Instagram caput Adam Mosseri besides said Thursday that nan company is alert that “people are seeing stories wherever group person added a location and assuming nan writer is sharing their unrecorded location. We’ll get retired a fewer creation improvements arsenic quickly arsenic possible, which will hopefully help.”

Blackburn and Blumenthal, who co-sponsored major legislation aimed astatine improving online information for minors, said they are particularly concerned that nan caller characteristic puts children’s information astatine consequence by “exposing their location to vulnerable individuals online, including pedophiles and traffickers.”

NBC News has reached retired to Meta for comment.

“While Meta has based on that nan characteristic is inactive unless users opt successful to sharing their location, immoderate consumers person reported that their location was automatically shared without their consent,” nan senators wrote successful their letter. “This summation is simply a origin of peculiar interest for america erstwhile it comes to children and teens that are progressive connected Instagram.”

Their missive is nan latest effort from lawmakers to put unit connected tech companies surrounding online safety, peculiarly astir teen users. Both beryllium connected nan Senate Judiciary Committee, which grilled nan CEOs of Meta, TikTok, X and different platforms successful a 2024 hearing, accusing nan tech giants of not having capable guardrails successful spot to protect younger users connected their platforms.

With Maps, Meta says that its supervision features let parents who usage nan company’s parental controls to beryllium notified erstwhile a teen starts sharing their location, and tin move their teen’s entree disconnected to nan characteristic astatine immoderate time.

Following nan 2024 hearing, Discord and Snapchat disclosed to nan Senate Judiciary Committee that less than 1% of parents usage parental controls offered to them connected those platforms. Meta declined to supply akin statistic to nan committee.

Blackburn and Blumenthal said, “It is clear that existing parental controls are not sufficient.”

“Meta has made it difficult for parents to afloat understand aliases utilize parental controls, starring to abuse, exploitation, and victimization of these precious children,” they wrote.

They described Meta’s way grounds connected protecting children online arsenic “abysmal,” referencing reports that nan institution deployed “AI chatbots that engaged successful sexually definitive conversations pinch minors” and based on that Meta has continued “to usage kids arsenic products.”

“Allowing children to stock their existent clip location and much readily displaying wherever they return pictures to strangers — galore of whom whitethorn beryllium pedophiles and traffickers — will only summation nan dangers children look online owed to your inaction,” they wrote.

They concluded their missive by highlighting their belief successful nan request for bipartisan legislation, for illustration their Kids Online Safety Act, which was reintroduced successful nan Senate successful May. The measure intends to put much work connected societal media companies erstwhile it comes to protecting users nether nan property of 17. It besides directs companies to let for much parental controls and to create dedicated pages for users to study malicious content. But nan bill’s opponents, including free reside and civilian liberties groups, pass that it could lead to censorship and is excessively broadly written.

“We impulse you to instantly wantonness Instagram’s representation characteristic and alternatively institute meaningful protections for children online —they merit thing less,” nan senators wrote.