Facebook said Monday it was pausing the rollout of its planned Instagram Kids app, a move that follows intense scrutiny about the mental health of teenagers on Facebook.
“While we stand by the need to develop this experience, we’ve decided to pause this project,” Facebook said in a statement Monday.
The social media company’s decision comes after a bipartisan group of senators announced earlier this month that they will launch an investigation into Facebook after a report emerged that the tech giant knew its platform could be “toxic” for some young users.
“Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse,” an internal Facebook document reviewed by the Wall Street Journal said. “Comparisons on Instagram can change how young women view and describe themselves.”
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Facebook said in July that it would move forward with plans to build an Instagram for children despite pushback from parents and politicians.
Now the California-based company says it wants to eventually proceed with the new Instagram app but wants to undertake more due diligence before doing so.
“This will give us time to work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators, to listen to their concerns, and to demonstrate the value and importance of this project for younger teens online today,” the company said.
The Instagram Kids project was started, Facebook said, in order to ensure children didn’t misrepresent their age and download social media apps that are meant for those 13 or older, which the company says happens frequently.
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Instead, it said it wants to provide parents the option to give their children access to a version of Instagram designed for children, where parents can have better supervision and control over their experience.
