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The popular social media platform, Instagram, is widely used by youngsters all over the world. It keeps adding new features to its interface over time. Now, Meta-owned Instagram has come up with a location-based map feature, which has become a topic of debate on the application. Many lawmakers are saying that the feature’s potential may expose users, highlighting the privacy concerns.
The new feature of Instagram allows users to explore posts on the basis of their geographical locations. However, the feature is opt-in only, which implies that it has to be activated manually. In addition, the users can share their location with friends or custom lists, as they wish.
The Republican Representative from Tennessee (R-TN), Marsha Blackburn and the Democratic Representative from Connecticut (D-CT), Richard Blumenthal, wrote a letter to Mark Zuckerberg recently, urging him to disable the feature immediately, as it exposes children to greater risks from traffickers.
In the letter, the two senators wrote, “Meta has made it difficult for parents to fully understand or utilise parental controls, leading to abuse, and victimisation of these precious children”, adding, “Allowing children to share their real time location and more readily displaying where they take pictures to strangers — many of whom may be pedophiles and traffickers — will only increase the dangers children face online due to your inaction.”
They further stated, “We urge you to immediately abandon Instagram’s map feature and instead institute meaningful protections for children online —they deserve nothing less.”
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