{"id":1099784,"date":"2021-12-08T18:13:32","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T23:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1099784"},"modified":"2021-12-08T18:13:46","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T23:13:46","slug":"senators-pressure-instagram-chief-adam-mosseri-to-support-big-tech-regulations-on-child-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senators-pressure-instagram-chief-adam-mosseri-to-support-big-tech-regulations-on-child-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators Pressure Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri To Support Big Tech Regulations On Child Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsenators-pressure-instagram-chief-adam-mosseri-to-support-big-tech-regulations-on-child-safety%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1099784&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>Members of the Senate Commerce Committee earned a few token concessions from Instagram chief Adam Mosseri in a hearing Wednesday.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Senators succeeded in pressuring Mosseri to commit to increasing algorithmic transparency and providing \u201cmeaningful access to data so that third party researchers can design their own studies,\u201d as well as back several legislative proposals including mandated changes to the platform\u2019s design.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cAnd I believe that companies like ours should have to adhere to these standards to earn some of our Section 230 protections,\u201d Mosseri said.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>However, Mosseri rejected the notion that the development of Instagram Kids, the version of Instagram geared towards children aged 10-12, should be suspended permanently, instead committing to a requirement that parental consent is mandatory for children under 13 to use the app.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Members of the Senate Commerce Committee earned a few token concessions from Instagram chief Adam Mosseri in a hearing Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Mosseri <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commerce.senate.gov\/2021\/12\/protecting-kids-online-instagram-and-reforms-for-young-users\"><u>testified<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;before the Senate panel in a hearing titled \u201cProtecting Kids Online: Instagram and Reforms for Young Users\u201d that focused on potential reforms designed to make social media platforms, including Instagram, safer for children. The hearing is the latest in an <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/09\/30\/instagram-facebook-marsha-blackburn-richard-blumenthal\/\"><u>initiative<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;led by Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal examining the impact of social media and technology on children and teen users.<\/p>\n<p>Senators succeeded in pressuring Mosseri to commit to increasing algorithmic transparency and providing \u201cmeaningful access to data so that third party researchers can design their own studies,\u201d as well as back several legislative proposals including mandated changes to the platform\u2019s design. However, it\u2019s unclear exactly what that \u201cmeaningful access\u201d will entail, and whether Mosseri\u2019s concessions will satisfy lawmakers eager to regulate the social media platform.<\/p>\n<p>The hearings are in large part a response to leaked documents <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/09\/14\/facebook-instagram-harmful-teen-girls\/\"><u>detailing<\/u><\/a> internal research conducted by Instagram\u2019s parent company Meta on how the image-sharing app impacts children. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/08\/zoe-lofgren-google-big-tech-antitrust-democrat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Democrat Opponent Of Anti-Big Tech Bills Says Her Daughter\u2019s Google Job Doesn\u2019t Influence Her)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6716437\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"41\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-6716437\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">US Senator Lindsey Graham (R), R-South Carolina, and US Senator Richard Blumenthal (L), D-Connecticut, explain Extreme Risk Protection Orders on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 8, 2018. (JIM WATSON\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In his written <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commerce.senate.gov\/services\/files\/3FC55DF6-102F-4571-B6B4-01D2D2C6F0D0\"><u>testimony<\/u><\/a>, Mosseri signaled that he was open to some form of government oversight of social media platforms, though he favored the approach of industry self-regulation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpecifically, we believe there should be an industry body that will determine best practices when it comes to at least three questions: how to verify age, how to design age-appropriate experiences, and how to build parental controls,\u201d Mosseri said. \u201cThis body should receive input from civil society, parents, and regulators to create standards that are high and protections that are universal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mosseri also suggested that tech companies should be legally required to follow these best practices in order to be immune from liability for third-party content hosted on their platforms. This echoes a <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/10\/13\/facebook-frances-haugen-big-tech-mark-zuckerberg\/\"><u>suggestion<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;made by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who proposed reforming Section 230 to make liability protections contingent on platforms enforcing their own policies as they are supposed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I believe that companies like ours should have to adhere to these standards to earn some of our Section 230 protections,\u201d Mosseri said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7332706\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"35\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7332706\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7332706 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/adammosseri-scaled-e1638886888553.jpg\" alt=\"Adam Mosseri speaks onstage at the WIRED25 Summit 2019 - Day 1 at Commonwealth Club on November 08, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for WIRED)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/adammosseri-scaled-e1638886888553.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/adammosseri-scaled-e1638886888553-279x120.jpg 279w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/adammosseri-scaled-e1638886888553-620x266.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/adammosseri-scaled-e1638886888553-768x330.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/adammosseri-scaled-e1638886888553-1536x660.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/adammosseri-scaled-e1638886888553-2048x880.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7332706\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adam Mosseri speaks onstage at the WIRED25 Summit 2019 \u2013 Day 1 at Commonwealth Club on November 08, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for WIRED)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Mosseri\u2019s suggestions largely left lawmakers unsatisfied, failing to address salient issues such as transparency and content recommendation algorithms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese changes fall well short,\u201d Blumenthal said. \u201cThese changes leave parents and kids with no transparency into the black box algorithm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blumenthal did, however, warm to Mosseri\u2019s suggested Section 230 reforms, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/press\/rep\/releases\/graham-blumenthal-hawley-feinstein-introduce-earn-it-act-to-encourage-tech-industry-to-take-online-child-sexual-exploitation-seriously\"><u>mentioning<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;his EARN IT Act that forces tech companies to earn liability protections through meeting certain standards. He also floated the notion of imposing a \u201cduty to care\u201d on tech platforms.<\/p>\n<p>Mosseri also said he would support a U.S. version of the United Kingdom\u2019s Children\u2019s Code, a set of <a href=\"https:\/\/ico.org.uk\/for-organisations\/childrens-code-hub\/additional-resources\/introduction-to-the-childrens-code\/\"><u>standards<\/u><\/a> governing online services that children frequently access. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/11\/05\/big-tech-build-back-better-act-immigration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Immigration Reforms Tucked In Democrats\u2019 Spending Bill Will Be A Gift To Big Tech)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, Mosseri rejected the notion that the development of <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/09\/27\/facebook-instagram-teen-girls-mark-zuckerberg\/\"><u>Instagram Kids<\/u><\/a>, the version of Instagram geared towards children aged 10-12, should be suspended permanently, instead committing to a requirement that parental consent is mandatory for children under 13 to use the app.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7064116\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"37\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7064116\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7064116\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1280073405-scaled-e1607026534656.jpg\" alt=\"Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill on October 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum\/Getty Images)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1280073405-scaled-e1607026534656.jpg 2540w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/GettyImages-1280073405-scaled-e1607026534656-279x120.jpg 279w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/GettyImages-1280073405-scaled-e1607026534656-620x267.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/GettyImages-1280073405-scaled-e1607026534656-768x331.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/GettyImages-1280073405-scaled-e1607026534656-1536x661.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/GettyImages-1280073405-scaled-e1607026534656-2048x882.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2540px) 100vw, 2540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7064116\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill on October 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sen. Blackburn urged the passage of federal data privacy legislation, a proposal she has been backing for some time; she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commerce.senate.gov\/2021\/7\/wicker-blackburn-introduce-federal-data-privacy-legislation\"><u>introduced<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;a bill with Republican Sen. Roger Wicker in July that would codify national data privacy standards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s time to pass a national consumer privacy bill, and kids-specific legislation to keep minors safe online,\u201d Blackburn said in the hearing.<\/p>\n<p>Mosseri indicated he would support federal data privacy laws, again echoing Meta\u2019s position on the issue. However, Mosseri sidestepped a question by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey on whether he would support updating the Children\u2019s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which would, among other things, move the age of online adulthood from 13 years old to 16.<\/p>\n<p>He also agreed to limit targeted advertising towards children, but failed to commit to a full ban as Markey demanded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat just won\u2019t cut it,\u201d Markey said. \u201cWe have to ban targeted ads.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Republican Sen. John Thune, the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/11\/09\/ken-buck-david-cicilline-big-tech-algorithms\/\"><u>author<\/u><\/a> of two bills aimed at increasing social media platform transparency \u2014 the PACT Act and the Filter Bubble Transparency Act (FBTA) \u2014 also succeeded in earning concessions from Mosseri.<\/p>\n<p>Thune asked if Mosseri would support one element of the FBTA, which would require platforms to provide users with a newsfeed that doesn\u2019t use recommendation algorithms tailoring content based on the specific user. Mosseri said he would, and that Instagram was \u201cworking on a version of a chronological feed we hope to launch next year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Members of the Senate Commerce Committee earned a few token concessions from Instagram chief Adam Mosseri in a hearing Wednesday. Senators succeeded in pressuring Mosseri to commit to increasing algorithmic &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1099784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1099784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1099784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1099784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1099784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1099784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1099784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}