Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Monday 19 February 2018

Facebook forges ahead with kids app despite expert criticism

By BARBARA ORTUTAY many of the organizations done. The company says it
AP Technology Writer and people who advised is “committed to building
NEW YORK (AP) — Face- on Messenger Kids do not better products for families,
book is forging ahead with receive financial support of including Messenger Kids.
its messaging app for kids, any kind. That means listening to par-
despite child experts who But for a company under ents and experts, including
have pressed the company pressure from many sides — our critics.”
to shut it down and others Congress, regulators, ad- One of Facebook’s experts
who question Facebook's vocates for online privacy contested the notion that
financial support of some and mental health — even company advisers were in
advisers who approved of the appearance of impro- Facebook’s pocket. Lew-
the app. priety can hurt. Facebook is Bernstein, now a paid
Messenger Kids lets kids un- didn't invite prominent crit- Facebook consultant who
der 13 chat with friends and ics, such as the nonprofit worked for Sesame Work-
family. It displays no ads Common Sense Media, to shop (the nonprofit behind
and lets parents approve Facebook's Messenger Kids app is displayed on an iPhone in advise it on Messenger Kids Sesame Street) in various
who their children mes- New York, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. until the process was nearly capacities over three de-
sage. But critics say it serves (Associated Press) over. Facebook would not cades, said the Wired ar-
to lure kids into harmful so- rived on Amazon devices the Parent Teacher Asso- comment publicly on why ticle “unfairly” accused
cial media use and to hook in January and on Android ciation) typically covered it didn't include Common him and his colleagues for
young people on Face- Wednesday. Throughout, logistics costs or sponsored Sense earlier in the process. accepting travel expenses
book as it tries to compete Facebook has touted a activities like anti-bullying “Because they know we to Facebook seminars. He
with Snapchat or its own In- team of advisers, academ- programs or events such as opposed their position,” said he wasn’t a Facebook
stagram app. They say kids ics and families who helped parent roundtables. One said James Steyer, the consultant at the time he
shouldn't be on such apps shape the app in the year advisory group, the Family CEO of Common Sense. was advising it on Messen-
at all — although they of- before it launched. Online Safety Institute, has The group’s stance is that ger Kids.
ten are. But a Wired report this week a Facebook executive on Facebook never should Bernstein, who doesn’t see
"It is disturbing that Face- pointed out that more than its board, along with execs have released a product technology as “inherently
book, in the face of wide- half of this safety advisory from Disney, Comcast and aimed at kids. “They know dangerous,” suggested
spread concern, is aggres- board had financial ties to Google. very well our positon with that Facebook critics like
sively marketing Messenger the company. Facebook "We sometimes provide Messenger Kids.” Common Sense are also
Kids to even more chil- confirmed this and said it funding to cover program- A few weeks after Mes- tainted by accepting $50
dren," the Campaign For hasn't hidden donations matic or logistics expenses, senger Kids launched, million in donated air time
a Commercial-Free Child- to these individuals and to make sure our work to- nearly 100 outside experts for a campaign warning
hood said in a statement groups — although it hasn't gether can have the most banded together to urge about the dangers of tech-
this week. publicized them, either. impact," Facebook said in Facebook to shut down nology addiction. Among
Messenger Kids launched Facebook's donations to a statement, adding that the app , which it has not those air-time donors are
on iOS to lukewarm recep- groups like the National Comcast and AT&T’s Di-
tion in December. It ar- PTA (the official name for recTV.
But Common Sense spokes-
woman Corbie Kiernan
called that figure a “mis-
representation” that got
picked up by news out-
lets. She said Common
Sense has public service
announcement commit-
ments “from partners such
as Comcast and Direct-
TV” that has been valued
at $50 million, which the
group has used in other
campaigns in addition to its
current “Truth About Tech”
effort, which it’s launching
with a group of ex-Google
and Facebook employees
and their newly formed
Center for Humane Tech-
nology. q