{"id":347719,"date":"2021-09-30T21:03:35","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T18:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/senators-skewer-facebook-exec-over-instagrams-impact-on-kids\/"},"modified":"2021-09-30T21:03:35","modified_gmt":"2021-09-30T18:03:35","slug":"senators-skewer-facebook-exec-over-instagrams-impact-on-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/senators-skewer-facebook-exec-over-instagrams-impact-on-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"#Senators skewer Facebook exec over Instagram\u2019s impact on kids"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Senators skewer <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> exec over Instagram\u2019s impact on kids<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>Senators slammed Facebook in a contentious hearing with its safety chief on Thursday, blasting the company over leaked research showing that Instagram can make body issues worse for many teen girls.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile Facebook publicly denies that Facebook is harmful for teens, privately Facebook experts and researchers have been ringing the alarm for years,\u201d said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).<\/p>\n<p>The Senate Committee on Commerce, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science<\/a> and Transportation called the hearing after a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of damning <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739?mod=article_inline\">reports in the Wall Street Journal<\/a> showed that Facebook\u2019s internal research found that Instagram makes \u201cbody image issues worse for one in three teen girls.\u201d Blumenthal said his office had received thousands of pages of documents that built on the Journal\u2019s reporting from a whistleblower who is set to testify next week.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Facebook\u2019s global head of safety Antigone Davis scrambled to downplay the Journal reports and convince senators that the company protects kids.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe strongly disagree with how this reporting characterized our work,\u201d said Davis. \u201cThis research is not a bombshell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Journal\u2019s reporting showed that an internal Instagram study found 13 percent of British teens and 6 percent of American teens with a desire to kill themselves traced that desire to Instagram.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/live-06.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Antigone Davis\" class=\"wp-image-19645344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/live-06.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/live-06.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/live-06.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Facebook global head of safety Antigone Davis sought to downplay the Wall Street Journal\u2019s reports and convince senators that the company protects kids.\u00a0 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Under questioning about that statistic by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Davis said she \u201cdisagrees with the characterization of the research\u201d in the Journal, saying the research did not establish a \u201ccausal\u201d relationship and that the real figure was closer to 0.5 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cruz also asked if Facebook changed its policies based on the suicide study, but Davis would not provide a definitive answer. She also refused to confirm the Journal\u2019s reporting that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was aware of the research.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hours before Davis\u2019 more than two-hour-long testimony on Thursday, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/news\/2021\/09\/research-teen-well-being-and-instagram\/\">Facebook published<\/a> what it said were two research slide decks that the Wall Street Journal used in its reporting. The company added annotations to each slide that sometimes downplay and dispute its own research.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/live-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Sen. Richard Blumenthal\" class=\"wp-image-19645289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/live-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/live-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/live-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>\u201cWhile Facebook publicly denies that Facebook is harmful for teens, privately Facebook experts and researchers have been ringing the alarm for years,\u201d said Sen. Richard Blumenthal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Shortly afterward, the Journal <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/facebook-documents-instagram-teens-11632953840?mod=hp_lead_pos5\">published a more comprehensive series of slides<\/a> than those that were released by Facebook, including a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/s.wsj.net\/public\/resources\/documents\/teen-girls-body-image-and-social-comparison-on-instagram.pdf\">slideshow<\/a> called \u201cTeen Girls Body Image and Social Comparison on Instagram.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That report included a study showing that 66 percent of teen girls and 40 percent of teen boys on Instagram \u201cexperience negative social comparison.\u201d When teen girls felt bad about their bodies, 32 percent said Instagram made them feel worse, according to the slides shared by the Journal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Davis said Facebook was trying to release more of its Instagram studies but did not provide a concrete commitment or timeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/Senate-facebook-insta-teens-15.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"A teen on a phone\" class=\"wp-image-19645395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/Senate-facebook-insta-teens-15.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/Senate-facebook-insta-teens-15.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/Senate-facebook-insta-teens-15.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Leaked research showed that Instagram can make body issues worse for many teen girls.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Photothek via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She spoke to the senators \u2014 who darted in and out of the hearing in order to vote on a government funding bill \u2014 through a video call in front of a granite backdrop with flowers and books.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When Cruz asked Davis where she was calling from, Davis said she was in a conference room in Washington, DC.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy aren\u2019t you in this hearing room right now?\u201d asked Cruz.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is where I was told to come. There are COVID protocols,\u201d replied Davis, who used to work for the district attorney of Maryland. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFacebook is in the process of hiding,\u201d Cruz shot back. \u201cYou\u2019re not physically here even though you\u2019re blocks away from us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/cruz-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Ted Cruz\" class=\"wp-image-19645401\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/cruz-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/cruz-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/cruz-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Sen. Ted Cruz blasted Davis for <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>earing remotely. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Facebook sending Davis rather than higher-ranking executives like Zuckerberg or Instagram chief Adam Mosseri shows the company is trying to distance itself from the Journal\u2019s damning stories, some observers say. Zuckerberg\u2019s only public response to the articles has been a flippant joke about a surfboard, while Mosseri attended the Met Gala the same week that the Journal\u2019s initial stories were being published.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Mosseri went on the \u201cToday\u201d show to talk about Instagram\u2019s decision to \u201cpause\u201d its plans to launch a version of the photo sharing app for kids.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mosseri argued that \u201cbuilding \u2018Instagram Kids\u2019 is the right thing to do,\u201d pointing to under-13 versions of YouTube and TikTok as evidence that children\u2019s versions of apps are accepted in the tech world.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/Senate-facebook-insta-teens-12.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Instagram logo on a phone\" class=\"wp-image-19645422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/Senate-facebook-insta-teens-12.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/Senate-facebook-insta-teens-12.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/Senate-facebook-insta-teens-12.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Instagram recently \u201cpaused\u201d plans for Instagram Kids. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Gett<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While Mosseri skipped out on Thursday\u2019s hearing, Davis nonetheless faced questioning about Instagram Kids, including from Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Asked how or when Facebook will decide when to un-\u201cpause\u201d its plans for Instagram Kids, Davis refused to provide a concrete answer and said a decision would come after consultation with lawmakers, parents, experts and users. She denied that the ultimate decision will come down to the whims of Zuckerberg.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Markey pushed Davis on whether she believes that features including follower and \u201clike\u201d counts on Instagram can quantify popularity and hurt kids\u2019 self-esteem. Davis replied that the company was still researching these issues.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/markey-03-copy.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Ed Markey\" class=\"wp-image-19645454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/markey-03-copy.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/markey-03-copy.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/markey-03-copy.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Sen. Ed Markey compared Instagram to cigarettes. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIf you need to do more research on this, you should fire everyone you paid to do research,\u201d replied Markey. \u201cIG stands for Instagram, but it also stands for Insta-greed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Facebook has taught us anything, it\u2019s that self-regulation is not an option,\u201d added Markey, comparing Facebook to big tobacco companies that pushed deadly products on children and teens. \u201cInstagram is that first childhood cigarette.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Another Facebook hearing in front of the Senate Commerce Committee is set for Tuesday morning, when the unidentified whistleblower who provided documents to Blumenthal will testify, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackburn.senate.gov\/2021\/9\/blackburn-blumenthal-to-hold-hearing-with-facebook-whistleblower\">according to the senator.<\/a>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/09\/30\/senators-skewer-facebook-exec-over-instagrams-impact-on-kids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Senators skewer Facebook exec over Instagram\u2019s impact on kids&#8221; Senators slammed Facebook in a contentious hearing with its safety chief on Thursday, blasting the company over leaked research showing that Instagram can make body issues worse for many teen girls. \u201cWhile Facebook publicly denies that Facebook is harmful for teens, privately Facebook experts and researchers&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":347720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/facebook-02.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[116784,76716,71422,4974,33423,5077,70289,71129],"class_list":["post-347719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-9-30-21","tag-body-image","tag-body-shaming","tag-facebook","tag-instagram","tag-mark-zuckerberg","tag-senate","tag-teens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}