For Immediate Release:
August 14, 2025
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230
(Montgomery, Ala) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined a coalition of 37 attorneys general in urging Instagram to make immediate changes to its newly implemented location-sharing feature.
In a letter to Instagram Head Adam Mosseri, the attorneys general outlined serious public safety and data privacy concerns about the change, which allows users’ precise locations to be displayed on a map. The coalition emphasized the heightened dangers for vulnerable users, including children and survivors of domestic violence, noting that such tools can be exploited by predators, stalkers, and other malicious actors.
“Location data is among the most sensitive and valuable information collected today, and yet, it’s often carelessly shared by social media platforms without users fully understanding the consequences. This isn’t just about data, it’s about real people being put at real risk. As a public servant and as a parent, I find it unacceptable that platforms like Instagram continue to prioritize profits over the safety and privacy of everyday Americans. It’s long past time they take responsibility and implement serious safeguards to protect users from harm,” stated Attorney General Steve Marshall.
The letter calls on Instagram to:
- Ensure that minors cannot enable location-sharing features.
- Send a clear alert to all adult users explaining the feature, outlining its risks, and providing full disclosure of how Instagram will use their location data.
- For adults who choose to opt in, provide a simple, easy-to-access control to disable location sharing at any time.
The attorneys general stressed that Meta and Instagram must prioritize user safety over product novelty, and that implementing these measures will protect user privacy while allowing informed adults to choose whether to share their location.
The full letter is available here.
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