UltraViolet Slams Facebook for Concealing Evidence of Instagram’s Harmful Impact on Teenage Girls to Boost User Base
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 14, 2021
CONTACT: Anna Zuccaro | anna@unbendablemedia.com
UltraViolet Slams Facebook for Concealing Evidence of Instagram’s Harmful Impact on Teenage Girls to Boost User Base
According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, Facebook intentionally withheld in-depth research showing Instagram’s harrowing impact regarding the app’s algorithms and its impact on teenage girls.
In response, Bridget Todd, communications director of UltraViolet, a leading national women’s advocacy group, issued the following statement:
“For years, Facebook and Instagram have exploited children and teens, specifically teenage girls, by purposefully exposing them to algorithms with psychologically harmful impacts.
“This report proves that Facebook is not only aware that their products disproportionately harm young women and girls, but that the company has consistently failed to act. Facebook poured time, energy and resources into researching Instagram’s pervasive effects on teenage girls, then hid the results knowing they might impact Instagram’s bottom line.
“Children and teens deserve more than social media platforms that capitalize on their insecurities. Facebook should be focusing its energy on addressing the real harms that already exist on its platforms, not on creating new ones for children in the name of profit.”
Earlier this year, UltraViolet cosigned a petition urging facebook to abandon its plans to target young girls on Instagram.
VIEW THE PETITION HERE: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-facebook-to-abandon-its-plans-to-target-young-children-on-instagram/