The Facebook Messenger Kids app let thousands of children join chats with unauthorized users. (Photo ... [+]
That wasn’t supposed to happen!
Facebook confirmed Monday that a “technical error” allowed thousands of children using its Messenger Kids app to join chats with unauthorized users.
Messenger Kids is a Facebook app specifically built for children between 6 to 12 years old. The app has only one real job: to make sure that the children under the age of 13 do not interact with people who have not been approved by their parents.
But according to a report from The Verge, a design flaw let users sidestep that critical protection that made sure children could not speak to anyone who wasn’t approved by their parents. The flaw allowed children to enter group chats with strangers — undermining the entire premise of the app.
“We recently notified some parents of Messenger Kids account users about a technical error that we detected affecting a small number of group chats," a Facebook spokesperson told Forbes in an emailed statement. "We turned off the affected chats and provided parents with additional resources on Messenger Kids and online safety."
What’s most peculiar about this security flaw is the way that Facebook rolled out a fix. Facebook has been quietly closing down group chats and alerting users of the bug for the past week.
The company has admitted to notifying thousands of parents as soon as the flaw was discovered, but has not said how long the flaw was active. It is also unclear how many complaints were received prior to the disclosure.
Messenger Kids has been scrutinized since it launched in 2017. Several consumer groups filed a complaint in 2018 arguing the app violates children’s privacy and does not meet the minimum standard set by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) because it collects kid’s personal information without obtaining verifiable parental consent.
The app was introduced at least in part as a response to growing concerns over Facebook’s power to be used an a tool for emotional manipulation. Facebook has published controversial experiments proving it can alter people’s mood and change the likelihood of voting simply by tweaking people’s News Feeds. Facebook was most recently under scrutiny during congressional hearings focused on its soon-to-be-launched Libra cryptocurrency.
“Facebook has demonstrated through scandal after scandal that it doesn’t deserve our trust. It should be treated like the profit-seeking corporation it is, just like any other company,” said Senator Sherrod Brown (D- Ohio).
Update 7/23/19 1:22pm ET: This article was updated to include a statement from Facebook.
