New version of Messenger service will let parents decide with whom children communicate
Facebook is launching a messaging app for kids as young as six, as it looks to woo parents who
want their children to have a safer space on the internet to talk.
Facebook Messenger for kids, which will first launch in the US, is designed with controls that allow
parents to decide who their children can connect with online. Kids will be able to use it for videos,
photos and augmented reality educational experiences.
The company says it will not show advertising in the app or share children’s data with marketers or
the main site.
David Marcus, vice-president of messaging products, said Facebook relying on parents being
connected to the parents of their children’s friends gives it an edge over rival services.
“The vast majority of classroom and family connections are currently Facebook friends,” he said.
The new app is being launched just as YouTube has had to defend itself against allegations that it
allowed inappropriate videos to be published on the site featuring children and sexualised
comments.
Major marketers including Diageo, Mars and Hewlett-Packard withdrew their advertising after it
appeared alongside the videos. Separately, YouTube has been trying to combat people posting
violent videos using family friendly cartoon characters.
Facebook said the new app will be more intensely moderated than the main app to try to ensure
that children do not access inappropriate material. For example, scanning messages for kids
sending naked photos.
The company did not give details of how large the moderation team would be and it is not known
how effective its automated detection systems are. On the main Facebook app, the company mainly
relies on users flagging content as inappropriate — be it violent imagery or fake news.
Facebook has tried many tactics to ensure younger users want to use the social network. For
teenagers, it tried and failed to buy Snapchat, before copying one of its main features — the 24-
photo collection called a “Story” — into Instagram, its photo sharing app, and other services.
It also recently bought tbh, an app popular with teens that allows users to give compliments
anonymously to their friends.
Facebook said there will be no automatic migration from Facebook Messenger kids into the main
app once the children become 13, the minimum age for an account on the social network.
(Similar to how Big Tobacco passed out Newports to children in the hood. Indoctrination
)
Facebook is launching a messaging app for kids as young as six, as it looks to woo parents who
want their children to have a safer space on the internet to talk.
Facebook Messenger for kids, which will first launch in the US, is designed with controls that allow
parents to decide who their children can connect with online. Kids will be able to use it for videos,
photos and augmented reality educational experiences.
The company says it will not show advertising in the app or share children’s data with marketers or
the main site.
David Marcus, vice-president of messaging products, said Facebook relying on parents being
connected to the parents of their children’s friends gives it an edge over rival services.
“The vast majority of classroom and family connections are currently Facebook friends,” he said.
The new app is being launched just as YouTube has had to defend itself against allegations that it
allowed inappropriate videos to be published on the site featuring children and sexualised
comments.
Major marketers including Diageo, Mars and Hewlett-Packard withdrew their advertising after it
appeared alongside the videos. Separately, YouTube has been trying to combat people posting
violent videos using family friendly cartoon characters.
Facebook said the new app will be more intensely moderated than the main app to try to ensure
that children do not access inappropriate material. For example, scanning messages for kids
sending naked photos.
The company did not give details of how large the moderation team would be and it is not known
how effective its automated detection systems are. On the main Facebook app, the company mainly
relies on users flagging content as inappropriate — be it violent imagery or fake news.
Facebook has tried many tactics to ensure younger users want to use the social network. For
teenagers, it tried and failed to buy Snapchat, before copying one of its main features — the 24-
photo collection called a “Story” — into Instagram, its photo sharing app, and other services.
It also recently bought tbh, an app popular with teens that allows users to give compliments
anonymously to their friends.
Facebook said there will be no automatic migration from Facebook Messenger kids into the main
app once the children become 13, the minimum age for an account on the social network.
(Similar to how Big Tobacco passed out Newports to children in the hood. Indoctrination
)
