Facebook Grilled over Mental-Health Impact on Kids

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https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58753525

Facebook has defended the impact of its products, saying Instagram has "affirmatively helped" young people. Its global head of safety, Antigone Davis, testified to the US Senate, about child protection.

It comes after a leak exposed how Instagram's own research had found the platform could harm children’s well-being. Previously, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said the app's effects on teenagers' mental health were "quite small". The committee opened by reiterating Facebook's own research - first reported on by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) - which found Instagram could have a negative impact on body image and self-esteem. Teenagers "blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression", it said. But Ms Davis then told the committee: "We conduct this research, to make our platform better, to minimise the bad and maximise the good and to proactively identify where we can improve. "We want our platforms to be a place for meaningful interactions with friends and family and we cannot achieve that goal if people do not feel safe."

Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate commerce, science, and transportation subcommittee on consumer protection, product safety, and data security, highlighted how Facebook had, in August, denied it was aware of any research that showed a negative correlation. "We know it chooses the growth of its products over the well-being of our children," he said. "And we now know that it is indefensibly delinquent in acting to protect them. "It is failing to hold itself accountable and the question that haunts me is how can we or parents or anyone trust Facebook." In the hearing, Ms Davis repeatedly failed to answer the committee's questions and said she would have to check with the relevant Facebook teams.

The whistleblower who leaked the documents to the Wall Street Journal will testify in a separate hearing next week and the committee said it would be seeking interviews from other social media companies in regards to children's mental health harms.

Facebook grilled over mental-health impact on kids

Facebook's global head of safety, Antigone Davis, testifies to the US Senate, about child protection.

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