Instagram has announced that they are introducing a brand new set of updates to combat online bullying an harassment.
The announcement was made yesterday evening, in a post on the official Instagram page.
“We know bullying is a challenge many face, particularly young people,” writes head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri.
Instagram’s New Anti-Bullying Tools Let You Shadow Ban Rude Followers https://t.co/V0ENIQoydE pic.twitter.com/q2ws1ZPsWs
— PRM//Photography (@PRM_Photography) July 9, 2019
“We are committed to leading the industry in the fight against online bullying, and we are rethinking the whole experience of Instagram to meet that commitment.”
“We can do more to prevent bullying from happening on Instagram, and we can do more to empower the targets of bullying to stand up for themselves.”
“Today we’re announcing one new feature in both areas.”
The new Restrict feature works to protect both the Instagram user and the commentor who may feel motivated to publish hate on a user’s page.
First, a new AI feature has been rolled out that notifies people when their comment may be considered offensive before it’s posted.
According to Instagram: “This intervention gives people a chance to reflect and undo their comment and prevents the recipient from receiving the harmful comment notification.”
The second element of Restrict is aims to give the bullied “control their Instagram experience, without notifying someone who may be targeting them.”
In a soon to be released feature, users will be able to place others on a restricted mode that does not allow specific people to interact with them in the same way as others.
The new features have been met with huge praise across social media.
With influencers being a heavy target for hate and criticism, it’s no wonder that they too are welcoming the move.
Top Irish influencer Rosie Connolly took to her stories to share the new announcement, writing: “This is so good to see from Instagram.”
