Attorney General Jeff Jackson, along with a bipartisan group of 37 attorneys general, has called on Instagram to revise its recently introduced location-sharing feature. The officials expressed concern that the new function could put children and victims of violence at risk.
“Our children’s safety comes first,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “Instagram needs to do some clean up on its location-sharing feature so we can keep children and victims safe – and it needs to do so now.”
Instagram’s updated feature displays users’ precise, real-time locations on a map interface for 24 hours whenever they post stories, reels, or regular posts. Although Instagram already collects user data under its terms of use, the attorneys general argue that this new capability goes further than previous practices. They warn that it could expose minors to sexual predators or other criminals who may exploit this information for offline targeting. The letter also notes increased risks for survivors of domestic abuse and other forms of violence.
The coalition is urging Instagram to make immediate changes to protect vulnerable users. Users have the option to turn off the location-sharing feature; however, Instagram may continue collecting location data for advertising and other purposes even if the setting is disabled. Further details about how Instagram handles user location data can be found in its help center.
Attorney General Jackson joined counterparts from states including New Mexico, Georgia, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Oklahoma, Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Texas Tennessee Utah Virginia Vermont and West Virginia in sending the letter.
A copy of the letter sent by the attorneys general is available online.
