Instagram’s controversial new “Map” feature carries “significant public safety and data privacy concerns” that could endanger kids, a bipartisan group of 37 state attorneys general warned in a letter on Wednesday.
Instagram Map, launched Aug. 6 with little advance notice, enables users to share their exact location with others on the app. The feature has drawn concerns it could place children and others at risk – especially given Mark Zuckerberg’s poor track record on protecting user privacy.
In a Wednesday letter to Instagram chief Adam Mosseri, New Mexico AG Raúl Torrez and others demanded that Meta take several “urgent” steps to promote safety, including disabling the Map feature entirely for underage users and sending a “clear alert” on potential safety risks and how Instagram planned to use the location data.
“Unrestricted location-sharing features pose a particular risk for minors as they can be readily
used by sexual predators to identify and geographically target children in the real world,” the letter warned.
“We know that dangerous individuals are already present on Instagram, and we have serious concerns
that this feature will increase the likelihood of hands-on abuse and exploitation.”
Last week’s surprise rollout of Instagram Map caused panic among users, with one writing on Meta-owned Threads,“I can’t believe Instagram launched a map feature that exposes everyone’s location without any warning.”
Mosseri attempted some damage control, writing in a post that “it looks mostly like people are confused” by the feature. The Instagram boss also noted that users had to consent twice in order to opt in.
“No, no one is confused,” another user shot back. “My friends were screenshotting my location and sending it to me while we were scrambling trying to remove it. You are NOT listening to your users.”
Instagram claimed that users could “choose to responsibly share your location with friends you pick using the Instagram map.” The feature is inactive by default, with users needing to opt in to use it.
The company also claimed parents would “have control over their location sharing experience on the map,” including receiving notifications if their child starts sharing their location and the ability to control if they have access to the feature.”
“Real-time location features should of course be intentionally built and give users control, which is why Instagram Map’s design already addresses the issues the attorneys general raise,” Meta spokesman Andy Stone said in a statement.
“It is off by default, everyone receives a notification explaining what the feature entails and can turn it off whenever they want, and with parental supervision, parents get a notification if their teen starts using it and can block their access to it at any time,” Stone added.
Top state prosecutors weren’t convinced, demanding that Meta add a “simple, easy to access feature” allowing Instagram users who had already opted in to disable Map at any time.
On Capitol Hill, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have already called on Zuckerberg to get rid of the Map feature.
The Wednesday letter’s other signers include Republicans Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has frequently taken legal action against Meta and other Big Tech firms, as well as Georgia’s Chris Carr, Alabama’s Steven Marshall, Arkansas’s Tim Griffin, Illinois’s Kwame Raoul, Nevada’s Aaron Ford and South Dakota’s Marty Jackley and others.
“Meta and Instagram have a responsibility to prioritize user safety over product novelty,” the officials said. “We expect your prompt action and response to prevent Instagram from continuing practices that endanger the safety and privacy of its users.”
Proton, which operates a privacy-focused email service, said Meta’s “past controversies and financial incentives raise questions about the safety of sharing your location data.” It also warned that location-sharing “creates opportunities for cyberstalking.”
The scrutiny is another potential headache for Meta, which faces multiple pending lawsuits at the federal and state level over its failure to protect kids online.
New Mexico is currently suing Meta after uncovering evidence that it had exposed kids to adult sex content and disgusting messages from alleged child predators, including “pictures and videos of genitalia.”
As The Post reported, Meta’s security issues also surfaced at the FTC’s antitrust trial seeking a forced selloff of Instagram – with the feds revealing internal documents that showed staffers panicking about so-called “groomers” targeting kids on the app.
