Instagram introduced “Instagram Kids” for children younger than 13. Instagram Kids was touted to require parental permission before joining and provide ad-free, age-appropriate content.

However, United States (US) lawmakers and advocacy groups alike have urged Instagram to drop its launch plans, citing ‘safety concerns’.

Executive director of Fairplay, Josh Golin said, “We won’t stop pressuring Facebook until they permanently pull the plug,”

Instagram said in a blog post that building Instagram Kids was their right action, but they are pausing the work and would continue building on its parental supervision tools.

Instagram said, “The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today,”

According to the reports, focusing on data suggesting Instagram had a harmful effect on teenagers, particularly teen girls and that Facebook had made minimal efforts to address the issue, but Facebook has said that the report is inaccurate.