Quotation (with page number or parag number or time stamp if video/audio)

“What I can commit to you today is that no child between the ages of 10-12 – should we ever manage to build Instagram for 10-12 year olds – will have access to that without explicit parental consent.” Page 1, Paragraph 3 of Facebook still won’t give up Instagram for kids.

Comment (250-500 words)

I chose this quote to comment on because it is simply not true. This is a quote from the CEO of Instagram, but no matter who you are there is no way to ensure that there are exactly zero underage kids on a social media app. I remember when I signed up for Instagram when I was in like seventh grade (younger than 13, which is the age minimum), the only “security” was a question that said “are you of the age 13 or older?”. I clicked yes, even though I definitely was twelve, and that was it. Maybe there is a more rigorous process now, but if a CEO wants to “commit” that no one under 12 is on Instagram or this Instagram for kids will be on it without parental permission, there has to be a better system. I can’t really think of one that is completely unforgeable. Sure, parents can monitor their kids’ phones, but as someone who got Snapchat before I was supposed to, it’s very easy to delete and redownload an app so parents can’t see it. Instagram could require an ID/birth certificate to sign up but they might not have the resources to verify all of that for millions of users, and still some kids might be able to submit that without parental help. In my opinion, it’s impossible for a company to “commit” that they can 100% guarantee that kids won’t find a way to use their app without permission. 

Question

What is a way that Instagram can ensure that there aren’t any kids on the app?