New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Blumenthal vows to hold Facebook accountable after Instagram report
Following a Wall Street Journal investigation that found Facebook knew but did not disclose that its Instagram photo-sharing app could be harmful to teen users, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said a congressional inquiry is ongoing and hearings could be held as soon as next month.
“The disclosures so far apparently are only the tip of the iceberg,” said Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate’s consumer protection subcommittee.
Blumenthal said Wednesday that he and Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the top Republican on the subcommittee, have been in contact with a Facebook whistle-blower and continue to seek documents and answers from the tech giant. They are also soliciting witnesses and will be seeking appearances by executives at Facebook and other tech platforms at a series of hearings that Blumenthal said would probably start in October.
“We can’t take legal action against them, but we can expose wrongdoing that can be pursued by the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission or other agencies,” he said. “The best disinfectant is sunlight.”
Facebook’s own research found that Instagram has been particularly harmful to teenage girls, who’ve reported increased anxiety and depression rates, according to the Wall Street Journal report. Teens who struggle with mental health said the platform made it worse by creating the need for validation in the form of views, likes, and followers, among other ways.Facebook officials have downplayed the potential negative impacts of the platform and have refused to disclose their research publicly.
About 22 million U.S. teens log onto Instagram each day, making them a key demographic for the company which brings in more than $100 billion in annual revenue, according to the report.
“They’re essentially profiting from a growth-atall-costs strategy that puts profits over the health and safety of children and teens,” Blumenthal said.
The report is renewing outrage in Congress, which has tried to hold social media companies like Facebook accountable for a host of issues, including protecting kids online and the spread of misinformation. Blumenthal said he and Blackburn wrote to Facebook officials in August seeking more information on how its internal research “has been used to further promote and market their products to young users,” and in response the company provided “basically non-answers.”
“This is not some rogue, lower-level employee doing something on his own,” he said. “This is a corporate strategy.”