Instagram is working on a version of the service suitable for kids under 13; source: the work will be led by Pavni Diwanji, a VP who joined Facebook in December

Executives at Instagram are planning to build a version of the popular photo-sharing app that can be used by children under the age of 13 …

BuzzFeed News 2021-03-19

Context & Ripple Effects

Instagram had previously relied on enforcement, including proactively locking accounts identified as under 13, and had just added limits on adult-to-teen contact. Putting Pavni Diwanji in charge of an under-13 product marks a shift from excluding younger users to designing a separate experience for them.

The proposal immediately became part of a broader child-safety debate: a coalition of 35 children’s and consumer groups later urged Mark Zuckerberg to abandon it. That tension matters because Instagram’s youth strategy now has to address both access and protections.

First-order effects

Pavni Diwanji becomes the reported lead for Instagram’s under-13 initiative, giving the project a named executive owner within Facebook.
Instagram opens a distinct product-development track for children who had previously been subject to age-based account locking, alongside its newer teen-interaction safeguards.

Second-order effects

Children’s and consumer advocates gain a concrete Instagram plan to challenge, as reflected in their subsequent call for Zuckerberg to scrap the project.
Instagram’s existing limits on interactions between adults and teens become a closer operational benchmark for any youth-specific service, increasing the importance of age-tailored safety design.

Third-order effects

The shift points toward age-segmented social products and controls rather than a single service governed chiefly by minimum-age enforcement; later Teen Accounts fit that direction for older minors.
If Instagram continues separating experiences by age, product design and safety policy become more tightly coupled, making youth protections a core service feature rather than an account-moderation afterthought.

The trend: Instagram is moving toward age-specific experiences and safeguards as it tries to retain younger audiences while managing mounting child-safety scrutiny.

Discussion

@buzzfeednews @buzzfeednews on x
NEW: Facebook is planning to build a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13, according to an internal company post https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
Facebook is building an Instagram for children under the age of 13, based on internal docs and interview with @mosseri. My latest with @CraigSilverman. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@ekp Ellen K. Pao on x
What could go wrong?? https://twitter.com/...
@craigsilverman Craig Silverman on x
HEY KIDS do you have the true heart of a poster? Well, good news: internal docs reveal that Instagram is building a version for children under 13. @RMac18 and me have the details: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@xan_desanctis Alexandra DeSanctis on x
I do not think it would even be possible to conceive of a worse idea than this https://twitter.com/...
@mikebutcher Mike Butcher on x
The only people a *child* really needs to “connect” with is their parents & their *local* network of school & the neighbourhood. That is QUITE enough. Zuck does NOT have the best interests of children at heart. He will NEVER allow his own children on this. https://twitter.com/...
@jbillinson Josh Billinson on x
Finally, an app for all those kids who see an age requirement online and don't just say they were born in 1903 https://twitter.com/...
@arainert @arainert on x
Lol. Hard nope. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@abc7chriscristi Chris Cristi on x
This is what we call, “DEAD on arrival” in my house. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
been crackin up about the art @BuzzFeedNewsArt made for this story for the last hour https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@stevehiltonx Steve Hilton on x
this is pure evil from Facebook when are our pathetic politicians going to outlaw this kind of corporate child abuse kids under 13 shouldn't have smartphones let alone Instagram accounts #MoreHuman https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@repriggleman Denver Riggleman on x
I think this needs to be thought through “just a bit” before implementing. Could be that this attracts the very thing that it's trying to protect against... https://twitter.com/...
@slpng_giants @slpng_giants on x
THE WORLD: How could @facebook get any worse? FACEBOOK: https://twitter.com/...
@gregpak Greg Pak on x
Do not let your children do this. Seriously. Do not. https://twitter.com/...
@peterwsinger Peter W. Singer on x
“Facebook Is Building An Instagram For Kids Under The Age Of 13” Seriously, do they learn nothing at all???? https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@ceciliakang Cecilia Kang on x
👀the leaders have identified “youth work” as a “priority” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ... via @RMac18
@tamaleaver Tama Leaver on x
It's very difficult to imagine ‘Instagram for Kids’ being a good thing. Messenger for Kids is a bit of a gateway drug, getting them on FB & around COPPA. Given the myriad of challenges around identity, self-esteem and other things, esp for under13s, this doesn't seem wise at all.…
@swodinsky Shoshana Wodinsky on x
v curious to see how this is gonna work from a coppa perspective, aka not be super duper illegal https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@qwongsj Queenie Wong on x
Curious how many kids under 13 are already using Instagram even though they're not supposed to. https://twitter.com/...
@fumi_chun @fumi_chun on x
The way bullying is going to get worse with this. No. https://twitter.com/...
@hypervisible @hypervisible on x
These dudes truly won't be satisfied until they make life worse for every segment of the population. https://twitter.com/...
@yair_rosenberg Yair Rosenberg on x
At some point, we will look at social media for kids under 13 like we look at cigarettes targeted to minors. https://twitter.com/...
@gavinsblog Gavin Sheridan on x
Get them hooked early/young and build profiles of them for ad targeting. Or as Facebook calls it: “connecting people” https://twitter.com/...
@gaetaamy Amy Gaeta on x
Pedophiles and child sex traffickers will use this as a grocery store. https://twitter.com/...
@chartier David Chartier on x
What could possibly, ever, in any way shape or form, go wrong. https://twitter.com/...
@clareangelyn Clare Garvie on x
Let's file this under “things the world doesn't need” https://twitter.com/...
@hondanhon Dan Hon on x
I feel barely in control of Messenger Kids. https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
After seeing the internal docs, I asked @mosseri about it. He said there is no “detailed plan.” The thinking was that kids want to join Instagram anyway and that FB wanted to build a product with safeguards and age verification with tracking for parents. https://www.buzzfeednews.…
@profcarroll David Carroll on x
You can bet Facebook executives and employees won't be putting their own kids on it. https://twitter.com/...
@qanonanonymous @qanonanonymous on x
The only thing they should be building is a doomsday machine for their server rooms https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
There are many concerns. Instagram doesn't even have a handle yet on abuse, bullying, and predation of teens currently on its platform. There is also a growth aspect to this: capturing a segment of users that will then get pulled into the FB ecosystem. https://www.buzzfeednews.co…
@jgo4justice @jgo4justice on x
Hey parents, if you love how Facebook is exploiting and manipulating you, you're gonna love it's new feature to track and exploit your kids. I mean, you really can't make this stuff up. 🤦🏽‍♀ ️ https://twitter.com/...
@blackamazon @blackamazon on x
So they plan on exploiting Black kids without reciprocal affirmation even earlier 🤔? https://twitter.com/...
@lam_barrett Lindsey Barrett on x
gentlemen, start your verifiable parental consent engines https://twitter.com/...
@scottlucas Scott Lucas on x
The Victorians had their kids working in the coal mines. About time we sent ours to the content mines. https://twitter.com/...
@michaelluo Michael Luo on x
But what do I do about a 12 year old who tells me, nonstop, that she needs a Roblox TikTok account??? https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@joshedwardsfilm Josh Edwards on x
This is low-key uncomfortable...knowing everything we do about the corrosion of attention spans & addictions that can come with using social media. Maybe just let kids be kids and don't try to hook 'em up to the crack cocaine so early? https://twitter.com/...
@elizajbarr Eliza Barr on x
Oh sure. Can't see any way in which this would go drastically and catastrophically wrong. https://twitter.com/...

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