VOA慢速英语--Facebook在反对声中暂停开发儿童版Instagram应用

Facebook has put a hold on the development of a child version of its Instagram service.

The move comes after major child advocacy groups and U.S. lawmakers urged Facebook to drop its launch plans for the new service, called Instagram Kids.

The decision was announced in an online post by Instagram's chief, Adam Mosseri.

Mosseri said company officials still "stand by the need to develop the (Instagram Kids) experience." However, a delay in the project will give Instagram the chance "to work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators" on how it should move forward.

Facebook announced plans for Instagram Kids in March. Instagram says the application is meant for children between the ages of 10 and 12. The company says while the service is designed for kids, it will contain tools for parents to "supervise and control" their child's experience.

"The reality is that kids are already online," Mosseri said in his online post. "And we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today."

He added that Instagram Kids aims to cut down on cases of children misrepresenting their age so they can download and use apps meant for people over age 13.

Mosseri said kids will need to get parental¹ permission to join the service and it will not contain advertisements. Parents will be able to supervise the time their children spend on the app and control who they can message and follow.

But the plans have faced opposition² from child advocacy groups and some U.S. lawmakers.

In May, a group of 44 U.S. attorneys general wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. They urged him to cancel the project because it could harm children. The group warned the service could increase cyberbullying and help online predators⁴ reach children. It also accused Facebook of not taking necessary steps in the past to safeguard user privacy and protect children.

Facebook faced similar criticism in 2017 when it launched the Messenger Kids app. The company said that service was designed as a way for children to communicate through the app with family members and friends approved by parents. Child development experts later urged the company to shut down Messenger Kids, but Facebook did not do so.

Josh Golin is executive director of the online child advocacy group Fairplay. He called on Facebook in a statement to permanently⁵ end its plans to launch Instagram Kids. "We won't stop pressuring Facebook until they permanently pull the plug," Golin said.

A group of Democratic members of Congress urged the same. Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey wrote for the group on Twitter that Facebook's latest decision showed the company had heard the calls to halt plans to launch Instagram Kids. He added, however, that the temporary delay is not enough. "Facebook must completely abandon this project."

Mosseri said while work is stopped on Instagram Kids, the company plans to expand its parental supervision⁶ tools to Instagram accounts of those 13 and older. He said more details on those tools will be shared in the coming months.

Words in This Story

advocacy – n. of expression of support for a particular idea or way of doing things

kid – n. a child or young person

regulator – n. to body with the responsibility to control an activity or process, especially by using rules

application (app) –n. a computer program that carries out a specific job

appropriate – adj. suitable or right for a particular situation

cyberbullying – v. the mistreatment or abuse of someone online

predator³ – v. someone who follows people in order to harm them or commit a crime against them

pull the plug – v. (phrasal) to do something that prevents an activity from continuing

abandon – v. to stop doing an activity before it is finished

1 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

4 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

6 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。