Clegg, vice president of global affairs at Facebook, said that Instagram will implement new measures to encourage teens to stop viewing harmful content and to give them a break from the platform. Clegg's remarks were made on CNNs State of the Union Show less than one week after Frances Haugen, a whistleblower, testified before Congress regarding internal research that revealed Instagram could have a negative impact on the mental health of young adults.
Clegg stated that we are going to offer something that I believe will make a significant difference. If our systems detect that a teenager is constantly looking at the same content, it may be harmful to their health. We will encourage them to view other content. Clegg said that the company was planning to add a feature called "take a break" to encourage teens to take a break from Instagram.
Clegg did not provide any timeline for either feature. A Facebook spokesperson responded to The Verge's request for more information. He said that the features were not yet being tested but would soon. The spokesperson also pointed to Adam Mosseri's September 27th blog post, which stated that the company was looking into the feature.
Last week, we announced that we were looking at two new ideas. One, encouraging people to see other topics if their content contributes to negative social comparisons. Two, a feature called Take a Break where people can put their account on pause to take a look at whether the time they spend is meaningful.
Dana Bash, CNN host, asked Clegg if Facebook's algorithm increased or spread pro-insurrection voices in advance of the riot at Washington's Capitol Building on January 6th. Clegg stated that he could not answer the question with a definitive yes or no. According to reports, Haugen will meet with the investigators of the attack on January 6.
Clegg stated that Facebook's algorithms should be held accountable, if necessary by regulation, so people can follow what our systems tell them to do and not what actually happens.
Facebook has come under fire for its handling of internal documents from Haugen, which was reported by the Wall Street Journal. Haugen, a former product manager at Facebook, testified before Congress Tuesday in a hearing that focused on internal research by the company that revealed Instagram could be harmful, especially for teenage girls. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, disputed Haugen's account. He said it was absurd for a company that depends on advertisers to push content that angers people to make a profit.
