It is an announcement that did not make people happy.
This Friday, Adam Mosseri, the boss of Instagram, revealed that the American giant was considering a version of its photo and video sharing service for children, arousing dubious reactions, even outraged, from some Internet users.
Information he revealed by responding, on Twitter, to an article from BuzzFeed which had managed to obtain an internal document.
Kids are increasingly asking their parents if they can join apps that help them keep up with their friends.
A version of Instagram where parents have control, like we did w / Messenger Kids, is something we're exploring.
We'll share more down the road.
- Adam Mosseri đ· (@mosseri) March 18, 2021
It can be read that the group intends to "create a version of Instagram that allows people under 13 to use Instagram safely for the first time."
Until now, the use of the application or the site is prohibited to these audiences.
A criticized ad
âChildren are increasingly asking their parents if they can join apps that help them stay in touch with their friends,â writes Adam Mosseri.
âA parent-controlled version of Instagram, like what we did with Messenger Kids, is an idea we're exploring.
"
Several Twitter users reacted virulently to the publication of the boss of the site used by 21 million French people each month.
They worry about the risk of harassment or the exposure of young people to inappropriate content.
âYou don't give things to children because they WANT them,â replied one user who identified herself as âa motherâ.
âChildren are not given dangerous tools that they can play with when the adults themselves have not found a way to make these tools safe,â she added.
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Instagram, whose parent company is Facebook, requires a minimum legal age of 13 to register, but users can lie about their date of birth.
The platform unveiled a series of measures to protect the youngest on Tuesday, including technology that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to guess the real age of users.
The group also announced that it will ban adults from sending messages to minors who do not follow them in order to avoid unsolicited exchanges.
In addition, minors will receive notifications about adults who have demonstrated "potentially suspicious behavior", which aims to limit interactions.