Facebook research shows company knew of Instagram harm to teens,
senators say
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[October 01, 2021] By
Sheila Dang and Paresh Dave
(Reuters) - U.S. senators on Thursday grilled Facebook Inc on its plans
to better protect young users on its apps, drawing on leaked internal
research that showed the social media giant was aware of how its
Instagram app harmed the mental health of teens.
The hearing in front of the Senate consumer protection subcommittee was
called after the Wall Street Journal published several stories earlier
this month about how Facebook knew Instagram caused some teen girls in
particular to feel badly about their self-image. After growing
opposition to the project, Facebook put plans for Instagram Kids, aimed
at pre-teens, on hold this week.
Antigone Davis, Facebook's global head of safety, disputed the committee
and WSJ's conclusions of the research documents throughout the hearing,
and said the company was working to release additional internal studies
in an effort to be more transparent about its findings.
"This research is a bombshell," said Senator Richard Blumenthal, a
Democrat, during the hearing. "It is powerful, gripping, riveting
evidence that Facebook knows of the harmful effects of its site on
children, and that it has concealed those facts and findings."
"IG stands for Instagram, but it also stands for Insta-greed," said
Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Oct/01/images/ads/current/charrons_bch041713.png)
The senators pressed Davis on several major themes, including what
identifiable data Facebook collects on users under the age of 13, to
what extent the company views young users as a growth area and to
confirm whether it knew that Instagram led some children to consider
suicide.
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![](../images/100121PIX/2021-09-30T211046Z_5_LYNXMPEH8T13R_RTROPTP_4_USA-CONGRESS-FACEBOOK-INSTAGRAM_small.JPG)
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) looks on as Senator Maria Cantwell
(D-WA) speaks to Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) as Antigone Davis,
Director of the Global Head of Safety at Facebook (not pictured)
testifies before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation -
Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data
Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S., September 30,
2021. Tom Brenner/Pool via REUTERS
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Oct/01/images/ads/current/graue_21BLAZER_081621.png)
Davis reiterated that kids under 13 were not allowed on Facebook, adding
0.5% of teens in the company's research connected their "suicidal
ideation" to Instagram, lower than the figures the Journal had reported.
"You've cherry-picked part of the research that you think helps your
spin right now," said Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas,
demanding Facebook commit to releasing its full research on the links
between Instagram and youth suicide.
A second hearing is planned for Tuesday and will feature a Facebook
whistleblower. The whistleblower is expected to reveal their identity on
Sunday in a recorded interview for TV news program "60 Minutes," which
in a preview described the woman as a former Facebook employee who left
with tens of thousands of pages of research.
Davis said Thursday that Facebook would not retaliate against the
whistleblower for sharing confidential documents with the senators.
(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas and Paresh Dave in San Francisco;
Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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