Post Whistleblower Claims, Instagram Chief Faces Lawmakers’ Wrath

The Index Today — Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri faced Congress on Wednesday to answer a stream of questions posed by lawmakers over persisting concerns of the social media platform’s deficient policies that compromise the online safety of its adolescent users.

Citing the company’s alleged intentions of keeping younger consumers hooked to their products, Minnesota Senator Amy Klombuchar said, “Your Company viewed losing teen users as, quote, an existential threat. Whereas parents are viewing their kids’ addiction to your products and other products as an existential threat to their family.”

Mosseri countered the allegation by claiming that the company strives to make the platform as “relevant” as possible while simultaneously ensuring the safety of its users. “I want to assure you we do have the same goal: We all want teens to be safe online. This is an industry-wide challenge that requires industry-wide solutions and industry-wide standards,” he added.

The intense exchange that followed during the meeting was a culmination of whistleblower allegations made earlier this year by Frances Haughen. Through a series of internal documents, Haughen revealed that the social media platform is instrumental in the dissemination of hate speech and fabricated news that can adversely impact the mental health of users.

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