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Facebook documents show how toxic Instagram is for teens, Wall Street Journal reports [cnbc.com]:

The Journal report exacerbated at least one lawmaker's concerns over Facebook's exploration of a children's version of Instagram. Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., has made children's mental health concerns in connection with social media use a key priority and previously rebuked Facebook for considering such a product.

Following the Journal's report, Trahan called for Facebook to "immediately abandon plans for Instagram for Kids" and focus instead on protecting existing young users.

"Facebook's internal documents show that the company's failure to protect children on Instagram – especially young girls – is outright neglect, and it's been going on for years," Trahan said in a statement.

"Facebook has no business developing additional social media platforms explicitly designed for our children when they can't be trusted to keep their current house in order."

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has also made children's mental health online a cornerstone of her platform. In a statement Tuesday, she said Facebook "refused to comply" with a request from Republicans on the committee in March [house.gov] asking for its internal research on its products' impact on kids' mental health.

A Facebook spokesperson said that due to the proprietary nature of the research and confidentiality concerns for participants in the studies, it can be difficult to share internal data outside of the company. Still, the spokesperson said, Facebook seeks to be more transparent about its internal studies.

"This also leaves us wondering what else they are hiding," McMorris Rodgers said. "We will continue to demand transparency from Facebook and other Big Tech companies, especially as it relates to the harm their products have on our children."

Republicans have circulated discussion drafts [house.gov] of bills including one that would require platforms like Facebook to submit regular reports to the Federal Trade Commission on their companies' impact on children's mental health.

Facebook "knows Instagram is toxic for teens, but they don't care — they're too busy shutting out conservatives and stifling free speech," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said on Twitter.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., called the findings in the report "appalling" in a tweet and said he would be "demanding answers from Mark Zuckerberg."

Democratic FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra later tweeted, "Given the financial incentives embedded in its surveillance-based business model, it is yet another sign that the company cannot be trusted with our data."

Read the full Wall Street Journal report. [wsj.com]

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. [youtube.com]

WATCH:More than 40 state AGs to oppose 'Instagram Kids' [cnbc.com]

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