Activists, parents urge Facebook to drop Instagram for kids plan

More than 150,000 activists and parents have signed a series of petitions urging Facebook to drop its plans to create an Instagram platform for children, the organizations behind the petitions said Tuesday.

The signatories join a growing chorus of advocates and bipartisan lawmakers who have criticized Facebook’s plans, which would create an Instagram platform for kids under 13.

The three petitions, launched by Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), SumOfUs and the Juggernaut Project, slam the plan over concerns about skewing children’s self image, harvesting their data and feeding the addictive nature of social media apps.