Lawmakers urge Meta to shut down Instagram Map: "abysmal" at protecting children

Democratic and Republican lawmakers are urging Mark Zuckerberg's Meta to shut down Instagram's new map feature, calling it a risk to child safety.The big picture: Lawmakers in both parties have stepped up pressure on social media companies over child safety, warning that location-sharing tools can expose minors to predators. How it works: Instagram lets users share their location on the platform and open an interactive map in direct messages to see where others have posted geotagged content.The content appears for 24 hours. Parents receive notifications if their child shares a location and they can turn off access.Zoom in: Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) called for Meta to remove the map and adopt "more robust and transparent safety measures" in a letter Friday to Meta CEO Zuckerberg. "Meta's track record on protecting children online—even in recent days—is abysmal," the lawmakers said.They pushed passage of the Kids Online Safety Act and cited as past safety lapses AI chatbots talking inappropriately to children and weak screening for sexual exploitation.Lawmakers alleged "some consumers have reported that their location was automatically shared without their consent."The other side: "Instagram Map is off by default, and your live location is never shared unless you choose to turn it on," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Axios on Saturday."If you do, only people you follow back—or a private, custom list you select—can see your location."Instagram's top boss Adam Mosseri said on the IG app Threads Thursday, users also have the option to share their location with their Close Friends list or "followers you follow back.""Personally, I use the map to share what I'm up to with a handful of my closest friends, and I curate that list carefully," he said.Axios' Josephine Walker contributed reporting to this story.

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