Making a stand for digital privacy, Michigan's Attorney General Dana Nessel has aligned with a bipartisan group of 37 attorneys general to call on Instagram to tighten up their location privacy measures. This plea follows concerns regarding a new feature on the social media platform that flaunts users' exact whereabouts on a map, raising red flags over the safety of minors and individuals such as survivors of domestic abuse. Specifically, the attorneys urge Instagram to prevent minors from using location-sharing and to readily offer adults the choice to opt in or out of it at will.
The apprehension stems from the potential for misuse by nefarious figures like predators and stalkers. According to the letter addressed to Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri, Nessel articulates, "Meta has a responsibility to protect its users, especially children, from online predators," highlighting that the "new location-sharing feature undermines safety and could have devastating consequences," as reported by the Attorney General's Office. The coalition is pushing for explicit alerts to all adults upon the feature's activation and for full disclosure on how Instagram intends to utilize the collected location data.
The chorus of concern isn't emanating from Michigan alone. A range of states' top lawyers, from Alabama to Wyoming, are resounding in unison with Nessel's call for action. They underscore that Meta, the parent company of Instagram, needs to shift its focus from feature novelty to user security. By following through on these suggestions, Instagram can foster an environment where user privacy is safeguarded, and adults remain at liberty to choose if and when to share their location details.
