37 Bipartisan State AGs: Instagram Should Ensure Privacy in Location-Sharing Feature

“Instagram’s recently implemented location-sharing feature … which allows users’ precise locations to be displayed on a map, raises significant public safety and data privacy concerns -- particularly for vulnerable users, including children and survivors of domestic violence,” the letter said.

“This functionality, if not carefully controlled, poses clear risks of stalking, harassment, and other forms of exploitation,” and “represents a troubling expansion of the personal data Instagram collects and makes accessible, which can be misused by malicious actors.”

Instagram unveiled the feature recently, attracting criticism from advocates of privacy and child online safety (see 2508080033). Also, Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked Meta to shut down the feature in a Friday letter (see 2508110051).

The AGs asked Instagram to ensure minors can't activate the location-sharing features as "they can be readily used by sexual predators to identify and geographically target children in the real world.”

They also asked Instagram to “send a clear alert to all adult users explaining the feature, outlining its risks, and include a comprehensive disclosure of how Instagram intends to use their location data.” Additionally, adults who opt in to location sharing need to have a simple and easy way to disable it if they so choose, the AGs said.

The letter was co-led by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez (D) and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R). AGs from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming also signed on.

“Instagram is once again prioritizing engagement over safety and has enabled a potentially dangerous feature without first ensuring the safety of their users, especially kids,” Torrez said in a release Wednesday.

Carr said, “We’re asking the tech industry to work with us by imposing commonsense measures that will empower parents and keep kids safe online.”

In an email to Privacy Daily, however, a Meta spokesperson said the concerns are moot. "Real-time location features should of course be intentionally built and give users control, which is why Instagram Map's design already addresses the issues the attorneys general raise: it is off by default, everyone receives a notification explaining what the feature entails and can turn it off whenever they want, and with parental supervision, parents get a notification if their teen starts using it and can block their access to location sharing at any time.”

The spokesperson additionally noted the social media platform's recently-launched Teen Accounts with extra protections for users under 16 (see 2504080046).

In a statement Wednesday, Arkansas AG Tim Griffin (R) noted that “social media already poses many risks for vulnerable populations, particularly minors.” Not only does the location-sharing feature “put kids at risk of being targeted by predators,” but “the risk could extend to adults, too, such as victims of domestic abuse who are trying to avoid being found by their abusers.”

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) also urged Instagram to release the feature responsibly and keep users informed. “Social media companies have a responsibility to their users to ensure they remain safe while using these platforms,” he said.

Virginia AG Jason Miyares (R) urged Meta, in an emailed statement Thursday, “to take immediate action to address these serious safety concerns and strengthen location and data privacy protections.”