Public Letter Re: Facebook Messenger Kids App

In January 2018, Fairplay organized a public letter to Mark Zuckerberg, Chairman and CEO of Facebook, asking him to reconsider his decision to release Facebook Messenger Kids, the first major social network designed specifically for children under 13. The letter details a growing body of research showing that excessive social media use is harmful to adolescents, and it emphasizes the dangers of indoctrinating even younger children into social media use. It received an overwhelmingly positive response from experts; ninety-seven child health advocates had signed it when it was released.

The letter is posted here as an example of an advocacy group speaking out about children and screens. Many resources on the topic of young children and social media are also cited in the letter.

Fairplay supports parents’ efforts to raise healthy families by limiting commercial access to children and ending the exploitative practice of child-targeted marketing. In working for the rights of children to grow up—and the freedom for parents to raise them—without being undermined by corporate interests, Fairplay promotes a more democratic and sustainable world.

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