Michigan – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is part of a bipartisan group of 37 attorneys general that is pushing Instagram to make its new location-sharing function safer for users’ privacy. The group’s concerns, which they wrote in a letter to Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, are mostly about the dangers of showing users’ exact locations on a map.
The letter warns that the feature could be exploited by predators, stalkers, and other malicious actors. Vulnerable groups, such as adolescents and survivors of domestic violence, are thought to be at the most risk. The attorneys general said that tools that use location can be useful, but they shouldn’t put users’ safety at risk.
“Meta has a responsibility to protect its users, especially children, from online predators,” Nessel said. “This new location-sharing feature undermines safety and could have devastating consequences. I urge Instagram to implement stronger safeguards to protect the privacy and security of young users before it’s too late.”
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One of the coalition’s suggestions to Instagram is to stop minors from using the location-sharing tool completely. They are also asking the company to issue a clear, conspicuous message to all adult users explaining the feature, listing the possible dangers and making it clear how location data will be gathered and used. They also want an option that is straightforward to use and lets adults who choose to turn off the feature at any moment.
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In sending this letter, Attorney General Nessel is joined by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
They are sending Meta a clear message: user safety must come before new products. They stress that stricter controls would still let adults who know what they’re doing choose whether to share their location, while still protecting users who are more likely to be affected.
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The collaboration shows that there is a lot of consensus that internet companies need to take steps to keep people safe online by working together across political lines. The letter is both a warning and an invitation for Instagram to think about how it adds new features that use private information. The attorneys general say they will keep an eye on how the platform responds and advocate for changes that put privacy and security first.