US lawmakers wants Mark Zuckerberg to end Instagram's new Map feature; writes letter saying: 'Meta has made it difficult...'
US lawmakers
have asked Facebook-parent
Meta
's CEO
Mark Zuckerberg
to end Instagram's new Map feature. Senators
Marsha Blackburn
(R-TN) and
Richard Blumenthal
(D-CT) recently sent a letter to Zuckerberg requesting him to "immediately abandon" the feature. They are concerned that this new feature, which was rolled out by the social media giant last week and can show users' locations in real time, may expose children to risks from 'pedophiles and traffickers,' among other dangers. The company has said that the feature will allow users to have their live locations appear on a public map only if they opt in. However, some users have reported that their locations were posted without their consent.
The US senators even accused Meta of having an 'abysmal' track record for protecting young users while noting that the company's parental controls are insufficient and deliberately confusing.
'Meta has made it difficult for parents to fully understand or utilise parental controls, leading to abuse, exploitation, and victimisation of these precious children,'
the senators wrote in the letter (as seen by The New York Post), pointing at Meta's parental controls.
Criticising Instagram's new Map feature, the senators said:
'This addition is a cause of particular concern for us when it comes to children and teens that are active on Instagram. Meta's platforms have been consciously designed to prioritise profit over the protection of its most vulnerable users: our children.'
The lawmakers also noted that children often accept follow requests from strangers, and allowing them to share their real-time location "will only increase the dangers children face online due to your inaction."
'While Meta has argued that parents with supervision settings on their children's accounts have control over their location settings, it is clear that existing parental controls are not sufficient,'
the senators continued.
What Meta said about concerns brought forward by US lawmakers
In a statement to The Post, a Meta spokesperson did not comment on the data-sharing complaints but reiterated that the feature was entirely optional.
'Instagram Map is off by default, and your live location is never shared unless you choose to turn it on. If you do, only people you follow back — or a private, custom list you select — can see your location,'
the company's spokesperson said.
Earlier, Blumenthal and Blackburn had targeted Meta through the 2024 Kids Online Safety Act, which was aimed at establishing formal protections for children on social media platforms.
While the bill cleared the Senate, it failed to pass the House and was reintroduced in 2025. In April, they also wrote to Meta, alleging the company was
'failing to protect underage users from sexually explicit conversations with a new class of AI-powered digital chatbots.'
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