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Instagram explains why it has started censoring ‘sensitive’ content
Facebook Inc.-owned Instagram said Thursday it will take more precautions to protect people from content that has the potential to upset.
The company will now start censoring certain images and videos and leave it up to the viewer if they want to see the content in its original form.
Instagram will begin blurring content deemed “sensitive,” along with the warning: “This photo contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing.” Instagram users will then have the option to see the image or not.
Criticized before for its censorship policies and clarity of those policies, Instagram explained to The Verge what kind of posts will be censored. Images or videos containing acts of violence, Instagram said, will be the main focus of the new censorship policy.
“Examples include animal rights groups that share content to expose animal testing conditions or animal abuse,” said Instagram, “or content that raises awareness of humanitarian crises around the world (famine, impact of war on local communities).” Sexual images are not ruled out, Instagram told The Verge, but this may come later.
The new policy doesn’t mean people can start breaking Instagram’s community guidelines; the same rules apply as before. So, while full nudity or explicit acts of violence won’t get on the site, something getting close to that may be allowed but might also be flagged as sensitive. Users don’t the option to turn this filter off.
In an Instagram blog post, the company said this year was all about “fostering kindness,” explaining that giving its users the option to report a post as sensitive will prevent any “surprising or unwanted experiences”.
The company has also introduced two-factor authentication for all its users. In the past, this was only available to some Instagram members. To enable this, users can tap on the gear icon on their profile page and turn on Two-Factor Authentication. From then on, every time you log-in a code will be sent to your phone, after which you can input that code on the site.
Image: Janaina C. Falkiewicz via Flickr
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