{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2025/10/technology/icymi-in-punchbowl-news-blackburn-says-meta-s-instagram-teen-accounts-announcement-is-nothing-more-than-a-pr-stunt", "ICYMI in Punchbowl News: Blackburn Says Meta\u2019s Instagram Teen Accounts Announcement Is \u2018Nothing More Than a PR Stunt\u2019", "2025-10-15", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "Senate", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "www.blackburn.senate.gov", "blackburn", "https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/news/cc8c80c1-d564-4bbb-93a4-f1d772346ae0", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) released the following statement slamming Meta for introducing revamped teen accounts to avoid public scrutiny following the bombshell Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law hearing Senator Blackburn led exposing Meta for burying child safety research:\n\n\u201cInstagram\u2019s sudden announcement of revamped teen accounts is nothing more than a PR stunt in the wake of the bombshell hearing I led exposing how Meta buried child safety research,\u201d said Senator Blackburn. \u201cAs the Kids Online Safety Act gains momentum and notches new supporters in the Senate with 60 co-sponsors and counting, Meta is racing to save face and escape accountability.\u201d\n\nTech: Kids bill backers slam Instagram changes\n\nBen Brody\n\nPunchbowl News\n\nSenators pushing a bipartisan bill that would impose restrictions on social media to protect kids online are not impressed with Instagram\u2019s new \u201cPG-13\u201d approach to teen users.\n\nThey dismissed Tuesday\u2019s announcement by the Meta-owned app as a cynical attempt to undercut congressional efforts to further regulate the industry.\n\n\u201cInstagram\u2019s sudden announcement of revamped teen accounts is nothing more than a PR stunt,\u201d Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said in a statement.\n\nThe pushback comes a day after Instagram said it would be putting in place new content restrictions based on PG-13 movie ratings for teen users. For instance, in addition to existing limits on search terms like self-harm or eating disorders, the app will block results for \u201calcohol,\u201d \u201cgore\u201d and other \u201cmature search terms.\u201d\n\nConcerns about teens\u2019 experience on Instagram \u2014 alongside TikTok, Snap and other social media platforms \u2014 was behind Blackburn\u2019s push for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).\n\nKOSA origins. The bill would limit certain design features like autoscroll and place a legal \u201cduty of care\u201d on apps to \u201cprevent and mitigate\u201d harms like eating disorders or violence.\n\nBlackburn recently assembled filibuster-proof support for KOSA in the Senate as a show of strength. The House is poised to try to limit the duty of care in a larger kids online package, as we\u2019ve reported.\n\nBlackburn is running for governor and hoping to enact KOSA, which previously fell short due to the concerns of House GOP leaders, before she leaves the Hill.\n\nSen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), the Democratic sponsor of the bill, said Meta\u2019s changes wouldn\u2019t stop the legislation\u2019s momentum.\n\n\u201cThis takes no steam out of KOSA,\u201d Blumenthal said. \u201cBig Tech is girding itself once again to oppose KOSA in every way possible, not only lobbying behind the scenes, but making public announcements about how it\u2019s reforming itself, which are more PR than reality.\u201d\n\nSenate critics of Instagram said the app\u2019s changes also wouldn\u2019t go far enough to address other concerns with Meta products, like young users\u2019 interactions with chatbots.\n\nSen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote on X that he\u2019d like Meta\u2019s Mark Zuckerberg to testify on the Hill once more about the new Instagram policies. (Hawley has long called for the CEO\u2019s testimony.)\n\n\u201cWhile he\u2019s at it, let\u2019s slap age-verifications on chatbots too,\u201d Hawley tweeted.\n\nRELATED", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2025/10/technology/icymi-in-punchbowl-news-blackburn-says-meta-s-instagram-teen-accounts-announcement-is-nothing-more-than-a-pr-stunt"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 4.238169174641371, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}