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| Instagram urges teens to take a break |
Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs, said Instagram is taking new steps to keep teens away from harmful content and encourage them to take a break from the platform.
Less than a week after whistleblower Frances Hogan testified in Congress about internal research that the platform could have a negative impact on young people's mental health, Craig made the comments.
"We have a few things that I think can have a huge impact," Clegg said. "Our system sees teens watching the same content over and over again, and that content can be harmful to their health. We want them to see different content."
In addition to suspending Instagram Kids and providing optional controls for parents to supervise teens, the company is also planning to introduce a feature called "Take a Break." Teens are encouraged to temporarily stop using the platform.
Clegg did not provide a timeline for these two positions. A Facebook spokesperson said these features have not been tested but will be rolled out soon. The spokesperson pointed to a post sent by Instagram manager Adam Mosseri on September 27, in which he said the company is exploring features.
“We announced last week that we were exploring two new ideas to encourage people to consider other topics when looking at content that might lead to negative social comparisons, and a feature called Pause Rest that people use to pause their posts and spend money for a moment to think about whether it is time to to serve them,” they spend their money on what is useful or not.
Instagram reminds teens to beware of harmful content
Facebook is also planning to introduce new control measures for teens on a voluntary basis so that parents or guardians can monitor teens' online activities.
Clegg said Facebook has invested $13 billion over the past few years to keep the platform secure. The company employs 40,000 people who are dedicated to solving these problems.
Facebook has come under heavy criticism in the past few weeks. Previously, the Wall Street Journal published on the basis of Huggin's internal documents.
Hogan, the company's former product manager, has testified before Congress. During a hearing that focused on the company's internal research it showed Instagram can be dangerous. Especially for teenage girls.
Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Facebook, disagreed with Hugin's comments. He said it didn't make sense for a company that relied on advertisers to post offensive content in order to make money.