LONDON: Instagram is putting a hold on the development of Instagram kids, geared toward children under 13, so it can address concerns about the vulnerability of younger users.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, wrote in a blog post Monday that a delay will give the company 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 announcement follows a withering series by the Wall Street Journal, which reported that Facebook was aware that the use of Instagram by some teenage girls led to mental health issues and anxiety.
Yet the development of Instagram for a younger audience was met with broader push back almost immediately.
Josh Golin, executive director of children’s digital advocacy group Fairplay, urged the company to permanently pull the plug on the app.
“We urge Facebook to use this ‘pause’ to actually engage with the independent child development experts who understand how Instagram will undermine young children’s wellbeing,” he said in a prepared statement.
Facebook announced the development of Instagram for kids in March, saying at the time that it was “exploring a parent-controlled experience.” The push back was almost immediate and in May, a bipartisan group of 44 attorneys general wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to abandon the project, citing the well being of children.
They cited increased cyberbullying, possible vulnerability to online predators, and what they called Facebook’s “checkered record” in protecting children on its platforms. Facebook faced similar criticism in 2017 when it launched the Messenger Kids app, touted as a way for children to chat with family members and friends approved by parents.
While concerns about Instagram for kids is ongoing, Mosseri said that Instagram believes it’s better for children under 13 to have a specific platform for age-appropriate content, and that other companies like TikTok and YouTube have app versions for that age group.
“We firmly believe that it’s better for parents to have the option to give their children access to a version of Instagram that is designed for them — where parents can supervise and control their experience — than relying on an app’s ability to verify the age of kids who are too young to have an ID,” he wrote.
Mosseri said that Instagram for kids is meant for those between the ages of 10 and 12, not younger. It will require parental permission to join, be ad free, and will include age-appropriate content and features. Parents will be able to supervise the time their children spend on the app, oversee who can message them, who can follow them and who they can follow.
While work is being paused on Instagram Kids, the company will be expanding opt-in parental supervision tools to teen accounts of those 13 and older. More details on these tools will be disclosed in the coming months, Mosseri said.
Instagram pausing Instagram Kids after pushback
Instagram pausing Instagram Kids after pushback
- Instagram puts Instagram kids on hold so it can address concerns about the vulnerability of younger users
- The company instead will be expanding opt-in parental supervision tools to teen accounts of those 13 and older.
Meta to charge Arab advertisers extra fee for reaching European audiences
- US tech giant told advertisers it will add fees ranging from 2 to 5 percent on image and video ads delivered on its platforms to offset digital service taxes
- Charges are determined by where the audience is located, not where the advertiser is based
LONDON: Meta will from July 1 impose location-based surcharges on advertisers targeting audiences in six European countries, a move that will directly affect Arab businesses that run campaigns across the continent.
The US tech giant announced it will add fees ranging from 2 to 5 percent on image and video ads delivered on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to offset digital service taxes imposed by individual governments.
Crucially, the charges are determined by where the audience is located, not where the advertiser is based.
That means Saudi, Emirati, Egyptian or other Arab companies paying to reach consumers in the UK, France or Italy will face the additional costs regardless of their own country’s tax arrangements with Meta.
Fees will apply at 2 percent for ads reaching UK audiences, 3 percent for France, Italy and Spain, and 5 percent for Austria and Turkiye.
“If you deliver $100 in ads to Italy, where there is a 3% location fee, you will be charged $100 (ad delivery), plus $3 (location fee), for $103 total,” the company wrote in an email to an advertiser initially reported by Bloomberg. “Note that any applicable VAT will be calculated on top of the total amount.”
The taxes have been introduced at different points, starting with France in 2019, though not the EU as a bloc.
Many tech companies report substantial sales in Europe and millions of users but pay minimal tax on profits. The goal is to claw back locally derived economic value, Bloomberg reported.
The move follows similar decisions by Google and Amazon, which have also begun passing European digital tax costs on to advertisers.
For Arab brands with growing European footprints, particularly in fashion, travel, hospitality and media, the new fees add another layer of cost to campaigns already subject to currency and targeting complexities.
Digital services taxes, levied as a percentage of revenues earned by major tech platforms in individual countries, have drawn criticism from Washington, which argues they unfairly target US companies.
Meta has been reached for comments.
