August 16, 2025 – Attorney General Kris Mayes of Arizona joined forces with a bipartisan group of 37 attorneys general, urging Instagram to step up its game on location privacy protections. The group, co-led by New Mexico’s AG Raúl Torrez and Georgia’s AG Chris Carr, is putting pressure on the Facebook-owned social network following the rollout of a feature that displays users’ precise locations on a map.

The coalition’s concerns focus primarily on the risks this feature poses to kids and survivors of domestic violence. The letter is a call-to-arms to Instagram to protect these vulnerable groups from the dangers of unwanted surveillance—a tool ripe for abuse by stalkers and predators alike. In the words of Mayes, “We have a responsibility to protect kids in Arizona from the new Instagram location privacy settings and the predators who will take advantage of them,” as stated by the Attorney General’s Office.

Amongst the solutions the Attorneys General are advocating for, they’ve asked Instagram to prevent minors from being able to turn on location-sharing features. They’re also calling for a clear alert to be sent to all adult users, making them aware of the feature and its inherent risks, as per the Attorney General’s Office. Such a move ensures full disclosure about how Instagram plans to use its location data.

For adults who opt in, AG Mayes and the coalition are pressing for an uncomplicated, accessible method to switch off location sharing at any time. “Data sharing and location sharing online can be really dangerous for minors– Instagram must do better,” Mayes stated. The collective voice of the Attorneys General echoes a sentiment that user safety should be the priority over the allure of a novel product feature.

By Taylor Johnson, Hoodline
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