Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall recently joined an effort to persuade Instagram to strengthen their privacy protections for users in the U.S.
Marshall joined a coalition of 37 attorneys general in urging Instagram to make immediate changes to its newly implemented location-sharing feature.
“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,” Marshall said in a statement. “This isn’t just about data, it’s about real people being put at real risk.”
This isn’t just about data, it’s about real people being put at real risk. I find it unacceptable that platforms like Instagram continue to prioritize profits over the safety and privacy of everyday Americans. pic.twitter.com/bilTXg4Kuv
— Attorney General Steve Marshall (@AGSteveMarshall) August 14, 2025
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.
“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,” Marshall added. “It’s long past time they take responsibility and implement serious safeguards to protect users from harm.”
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.
“According to recent reports, the feature enables users to see and share detailed, real-time location data through Instagram’s map interface,” the letter states. “This functionality, if not carefully controlled, poses clear risks of stalking, harassment, and other forms of exploitation. It also represents a troubling expansion of the personal data Instagram collects and makes accessible, which can be misused by malicious actors.”
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.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
