- Critics are attacking Facebook over its new messaging app aimed at children.
- "Stay away from my children," British health secretary Jeremy Hunt warned the social network.
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British minister tears into Facebook's new app for children: 'Stay away from my kids' (FB)
Facebook is going after ever-younger users, and Jeremy Hunt isn't happy.
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Facebook is launching an app for children — and not everyone is happy about it.
British health secretary and Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt has added his voice to the chorus of critics attacking the social network for trying to attract ever-earlier users to its services, publicly telling the company: "Stay away from my kids."
"Not sure this is the right direction at all Facebook told me they would come back with ideas to PREVENT underage use of their product, but instead they are actively targeting younger children," the politician wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.
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"Stay away from my kids please Facebook and act responsibly!"
Not sure this is the right ... @ Jeremy Hunt
Messenger Kids is an app aimed at users younger than 13, the minimum age at which people are allowed to sign up for a regular Facebook account. Parents have to approve all their children's contacts, and they won't be shown adverts.
It's intended as a safe space for children to send messages — but its announcement has caused some disquiet.
"Facebook’s success has long derived from its willingness to find the limits of our comfort around sharing, and then push right past them," The Verge's Casey Newton wrote. "Viewed in that light, building a pipeline of 6-year-old users in the name of protecting them from child predators is part of a long tradition."
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British Prime minister Theresa May's spokesperson was asked about Hunt's remarks on Tuesday. They responded: "Jeremy Hunt leads for the government on this and he's obviously concerned in relation to protecting children's' mental health on social media and that comment is in line with that."
Reached for comment, a Facebook spokesperson defended the app. In a statement, they said: "
Facebook did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
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