On Aug. 13, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr co-led a letter to Instagram regarding its new live location sharing maps feature. Among Torrez and Carr, 35 other attorneys general signed onto this letter, which claimed the feature raised “public safety and data privacy concerns — particularly for vulnerable users, including children and survivors of domestic violence,” the letter reads.
This feature was intended to be a “lightweight” way to connect with each other and is automatically turned off unless users choose to opt in, according to Meta. The feature allows users to share their location with people they follow back. Users can also hide their location from certain people or hide their location when they are in certain places.
There have been reports from some users that their location was shared without their consent, triggering Meta to re-examine how the feature works, according to CBS. Some users found geotagged posts appearing on the maps, even when they have opted out of location sharing, according to NBC.
The letter from the attorneys general outlined three key demands: prohibiting minors from enabling location sharing; providing adult users clear alerts about the feature, its risks and how location data will be used; and allowing adult users who choose to opt in to easily disable the feature at any time, according to the New Mexico Department of Justice.
While the letter does not exert any legal power by the attorneys general over Instagram to make changes to the app, it does include the expectation of “prompt action and response to prevent Instagram from continuing practices that endanger the safety and privacy of its users,” the letter reads.
This development comes as many Americans feel a sense of helplessness about sharing personal data. According to Pew Research Center, 81% of US adults believe that they have little control over the data that companies collect from them.
Noah Pocock Wood, a freshman at the University of New Mexico, uses both Instagram and Snapchat but does not use Instagram’s location feature. Pocock Wood is concerned by what this feature would mean for faceless creators and creators with large platforms, they said.
“I think politicians will usually hear complaints from people and back-pocket it, so them going against something like this is a big step forward in being mindful of people’s safety,” Pocock Wood said of the action from legislators and the attorneys general.
Carlos Garcia, a senior majoring in criminology, originally had the feature off, but turned on the feature to try it for the purposes of a Daily Lobo interview.
Garcia called legislators showing concern about something that could negatively affect people a “good thing,” they said.
“It's a really cool feature. But I can also see how it can go wrong when used with bad intentions and how concerning that can be,” Garcia said.
Shin Thant Hlaing is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
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