Nashville, TN - Concerns over Instagram’s new map feature have sparked bipartisan outrage, with U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut calling on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to shut it down immediately. In a strongly worded letter, the senators warned that the feature—designed to share users’ real-time location—could put children at serious risk, exposing them to predators, traffickers, and other dangerous individuals.

While Meta claims the feature is opt-in only, reports have surfaced suggesting that some users’ locations were shared without their consent. That’s especially troubling for parents, many of whom rely on Instagram’s parental controls to keep their kids safe. According to Blackburn and Blumenthal, those controls are confusing and insufficient, leaving children vulnerable to exploitation.

The senators didn’t hold back in criticizing Meta’s broader track record, accusing the company of prioritizing profit over protection. They cited disturbing examples, including AI chatbots engaging in inappropriate conversations with minors and algorithms that allegedly promote underage-sex content. The fear is that Instagram’s map feature could become yet another tool for predators to track and target children.

“Children often accept follow requests from people they don’t know,” the letter states. “Displaying where they take pictures or their last active location to strangers—many of whom may be pedophiles or traffickers—only increases the danger.”

Blackburn and Blumenthal argue that Meta has repeatedly failed to safeguard young users and say it’s time for Congress to step in. They’re pushing for the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, which would impose stricter standards on platforms like Instagram.

Until then, they’re urging Zuckerberg to act swiftly and remove the map feature altogether. As they put it, “Children deserve nothing less.”