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| Instagram to roll out chronologically-ordered feed next year |
During a Senate subcommittee hearing on the harm done to young people using the app, Instagram director Adam Mosseri said the company is developing a chronological version of the feed that shows contributions from users. Based on user preferences.
The company was founded in 2016 and updated in 2017 to include an algorithmic sorting feed of featured posts that are generally hated by users who love to post.
Existing feeds use artificial intelligence to create what Instagram considers to be more personalized based on user activity. However, despite the company's guarantees to the contrary, it is still not popular with most users.
Mosseri appeared before the Senate subcommittee and was asked by the senator about child safety in the app, in part because Francis Hogan submitted internal documents indicating the company knew its app could be harmful to teens.
In his testimony, Mosseri proposed creating an industry body to define best practices in handling children's data and parental controls to keep children safe online.
The Agency accepts the views of parents, regulators and civil society in order to develop global standards and safeguards. Mosseri said the platform must meet these criteria in order to be protected under Section 230 of the Communication Standards Act.
Senators seem to doubt the efficacy of such an industrial organization. Senator Richard Blumenthal (Richard Blumenthal) has raised concerns about Instagram and called for measures to protect children's safety online. He criticized Mosseri's proposal for self-discipline. "Self-regulation based on trust is no longer a viable solution," he said.
Instagram defends its youth safety successes
The platform recently introduced a Take Break feature that the platform began testing last month. When enabled, users will be reminded to take up to 30 minutes to take a break from common addictive apps.
Mosseri also said that the platform plans to release its first parental controls in March 2022.
These controls allow parents to monitor and limit the time they spend on the app. But it doesn't quite live up to the powerful control features of competitors like Tik Tok.
“So far, your proposals have been frustrating, and they will not protect children from addiction to your platform,” Blumenthal told Mosseri before the meeting concluded.