Facebook pumps the brakes

Instagram announced Monday that it is pausing plans to launch a version of the photo-sharing app targeted for children under the age of 13 following leaked internal reports showing the platform’s effect on the mental health of young users.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, wrote in a blog post that delaying the new version of the app is not an acknowledgement that the plan is a bad idea.

“The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today,” he explained.

Backlash building: The project, dubbed “Instagram Kids,” had already been criticized by lawmakers and privacy groups before The Wall Street Journal’s explosive reporting on internal Facebook research.

The Journal obtained company slides showing that, among other things, Instagram made one-third of teen girls feel worse about their bodies.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, has pushed back strongly on the Journal’s characterization of its research, publishing a blog post Sunday with the slide upon which that conclusion was based.

Lawmakers unsatisfied: Four Democratic legislators who have been critical of Instagram Kids in the past slammed Monday’s delay as insufficient.

“Facebook has completely forfeited the benefit of the doubt when it comes to protecting young people online and it must completely abandon this project,” Sens. Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal and Reps. Kathy Castor and Lori Trahan said in a joint statement.