Instagram Censorship

Instagram is a free photo and video sharing social networking platform that allows users to connect with their followers or with a select group of friends. Its mission is to capture and share the world’s moments. From small businesses to large institutions, news organizations to cultural hubs, celebrities, photographers, musicians, and influencers, Instagram allows users to share aspects of their life through posts, stories, short-form videos, live streams, and direct messages. You can make a visual impression through taking, editing, and publishing content, as well as interacting with your content via likes, comments, shares, and saves. With more than one billion active users, Instagram has become one of the most popular social media platforms, especially among millennials. Nearly 70% of its total population are under 35 years old. Despite its strong presence, there have been continuous controversies regarding Instagram's decisions on censorship and the outcomes of its censorship. Its algorithm has come under fire for implementing racist decisions and double standards targeting women and other marginalized communities.

Instagram logo

Background

Instagram was developed in San Francisco in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, who initially attempted to create a platform similar to Foursquare but then refocused their attention to photo sharing. With its simple interface and easy-to-use features, Instagram gained attraction rapidly. The company reported more than 40 million active users just two years after launch. This caught the attention of Meta (formerly Facebook), which officially acquired the company for $1 billion in the summer of 2012. While user growth has continued to increase since the Meta acquisition, the platform has several ethical concerns over censorship. Over the years, questions about who and what Instagram should censor were raised. From Instagram blaming its algorithm’s censoring of activists on a “technical bug” to the rolling out of its “Sensitive Content Control,” which allows users to set limits around how much potentially sensitive content they might see on their Explore page, the line between Instagram’s Community Guidelines and Recommendation Guidelines has become more ambiguous than it ever has been. Countries like China, Russia, Iran and Uganda have banned Instagram, temporarily or permanently. Instagram bans in these countries are largely due to the desire to censor information, especially during times of conflict, protest or uprising.

Features

• Posts
• Stories
• Reels
• IGTV
• Messenger
• Shopping
• Search & Explore

Ethical Implications

Instagram falls under frequent criticism for the way that it blocks or removes content on the platform. The site provides limited information about how it makes decisions about unacceptable content, leading to worries that its algorithms could be biased.

Banning Hashtags

Hashtags on Instagram may not be searchable if the text or the content associated with the hashtag consistently do not follow Instagram's Terms of Use or Community Guidelines. Users can still tag their photos with them, but doing so is meaningless because no one will be able to search for them. Hashtags are blocked in several different ways:

• Permanent blocks: for tags that are permanently blocked, they return to a 404 error page.
• New posts moderated: for tags that are only temporarily blocked, Instagram shows "top posts" but not "new posts".
• "No posts yet" error message: for some tags, Instagram simply says that there are no relevant photos.
• Content warning: for tags related to certain topics, such as eating disorders, suicide or self-harm, and private sales of firearms, Instagram attaches a click-through content warning to them.

Some hashtags are banned permanently while others are banned temporarily. Fore example, explicit tags like "#anal" are permanently banned. Separately, "currently hidden" tags like "#goddess" are temporarily banned. Despite the list of banned hashtags changes from time to time, Instagram doesn't publish a constantly-updated list. In addition, there is no direct information from Instagram and little consistency in which tags are blocked. This may leave users confused as to what Instagram is doing and why, as well as making it difficult for them to navigate how to use hashtags on Instagram.

In 2015, Instagram banned certain feminism- and identity-centered hashtags like “#curvy” and “#goddess”. Meanwhile, “#god” was left untouched. A spokesperson from Instagram explained that those hashtags became unsearchable because they were used to share photos that violate Instagram’s policies around nudity when in fact there are plenty of much more sexually explicit words than “curvy” allowed on the platform. This shows that curvier bodies are treated differently from thin bodies even when there is just as much exposed. These bans left some frustrated because it could slow down the body positivity movement that’s taken hold online. Eventually, the bans were lifted. Whether women and the LGBT community were targeted or not, intentionally or unintentionally, the company appears to impose its own set of values as well as reinforce and perpetuate the meaning associated with certain terms on its audience through controlling what terms are shown or what aren’t shown on the platform.

Censoring Sensitive Content

In 2021, Instagram launched "Sensitive Content Control," allowing users to determine how much or how little "sensitive" content, like nudity, guns and violence, they'd like filtered out of their Explore pages. Specifically, there are three options: "Standard" is the default state, preventing people from seeing some sensitive content. "More" enables people to see more sensitive content, whereas "Less" means they see less of this content than the default state. Users can change the setting at any time, but there is one exception: the "More" option will not be available to people under 18. This filter was later expanded to cover all surfaces where Instagram makes recommendations, including content in Explore, Search, Reels, Suggested Accounts, and Feed Recommendations.

Critics of the filter accuse Instagram for making it harder for users to see or share work that explores content that it deems "inappropriate." Reducing the risk associated with "sensitive" content is likely to risk limiting legitimate uses for sharing similar content. Indeed, posts that are considered "sensitive" may also be the ones that draw attention to pressing issues like abuse or police brutality. With users having no say in what content is considered sensitive, they may not be able to view content associated with topics or issues they care about. With that being said, some demanded transparency and restoration of full access to content settings for users to apply or remove filters of their own volition, no default settings.

Sensitive Content Control

Censoring Political Speech

Following the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade that stripped away constitutional right to abortion, Instagram has been removing posts in which people offer to purchase, mail or share abortion pills to those in need, and even flagging content that promotes reproductive rights. Meta, the parent company of Instagram, pointed to its “regulated goods” policy that prohibits the sale of certain items, including pharmaceuticals, guns, alcohol, and drugs. Despite this, Instagram has let stand posts offering to share guns and marijuana although they also violate Meta’s rules. In addition, Instagram has suppressed pro-Palestinian content like posts expressing solidarity with Palestinians during the Sheikh Jarrah attack. In some cases, despite posts not transforming material that could reasonably be constructed as incitement to violence or hatred, users were not given an explanation for content removal or account suspension. For example, Instagram removed a screenshot of headlines and photos from three New York Times opinion articles for which the user added commentary that argued Palestinians to "never concede" their rights.

The ease with which Meta appears to have immediately blocked information about abortion pills and evidence of brutality and violence during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict shows us that the company is constantly controlling which voices and what content are (or aren’t) given space on its platform, as well as its capability to effectively cut off access to certain information with a lack of transparency surrounding its content moderation practices. Censorship of political speech on this platform may impose a threat to learning or engagement on issues like this, resulting in users receiving one-sided information only or information that isn't comprehensive. This raises concern because nearly half of Americans “often” or “sometimes” turn to social media for their news, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey.

Censoring Hate Speech

Instagram’s hate speech policy bans attacks on people based on their protected characteristics, including race or religion, as well as “more implicit forms of hate speech,” like content depicting blackface and anti-Semitic tropes. Instagram censors hate speech in two ways: first, it uses AI algorithms to filter hateful messages, and second, it provides users with tools to control their own experience. In 2021, Instagram took a step further and launched a new feature to manage unwanted interactions all at once. With that, users are able to delete comments in bulk, as well as block or restrict multiple accounts that post negative comments. Aside from deleting negative comments, users are able to highlight positive comments by using the “pin” feature, and choose who is allowed to tag and mention them. Regarding hate speech within direct messages, first-time offenders are restricted from sending messages for an undefined period of time, but if they send hateful messages again, their account will be disabled.

Using AI algorithms to censor hate speech seems to be a promising way to minimize the harm of online bullying. However, Instagram has fallen under criticism for its algorithm bias. According to an internal research conducted by Instagram employees in 2019, the automatic moderation algorithm that Instagram uses to remove accounts for bullying and sending hateful messages was 50% more likely to automatically ban Black users than white users. Following the discovery, Instagram reportedly implemented a slightly different version of the moderation tool, but blocked employees from conducting research on its potential racial biases, while stating that the initial report was done using “flawed” methodology. This potential bias in the system can have impacts on the reinforcements of social biases on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, etc.

Censoring Misinformation

Instagram uses both technology and feedback from its community to identify, review and label posts and accounts that may contain false information. Specifically, as an effort to combat Covid-19, Instagram banned users from spreading false claims about Covid-19 and its vaccines. The company estimates it has taken down more than 25 million posts under its Covid-19 policies, which now require the removal of 80 separate false claims about the disease and its vaccines. Despite the positive role Instagram seemingly play in minimizing the spread of Covid-19 misinformation, critics argue otherwise. They claim that Instagram’s algorithmic recommendations were promoting Covid-19 misinformation and anti-vaccination content during the peak of the pandemic instead. Indeed, the Center for Countering Digital Hate and youth-led charity Restless Development found that through the “explore” page and the “suggested post” features, new Instagram accounts were shown substantial quantities of misinformation. Since suggested posts on your Instagram feed and Explore page are based on factors like accounts you follow, photos or videos you liked, and who you’re connected to on Instagram, the algorithms can easily send those who are suspicious about certain claims down a rabbit hole of more extreme content. With the lack of a comprehensive understanding of how Instagram’s automated recommendations systems expose people to misinformation, critics argue that Instagram should exclude related posts from being recommended to its users at all to avoid the spread of Covid-19 misinformation.

Censorship Outcomes

Content Removal

If a user's content goes against the platform's Community Guidelines or is reported or flagged as inappropriate, it will either be hidden or deleted.

Account Shadow Banned

Shadow banning refers to when content isn't outright removed from the platform, but instead strategically hidden from users. This strategy restricts an account’s visibility in users’ feeds, stories, Explore pages, etc. If an account is shadow banned, it may see a sharp decline in likes, comments and engagement. This can happen when an account posts enters a gray area of the platform’s Community Guidelines. In 2019, Instagram updated their community guidelines to state that posts that are deemed "inappropriate" for the international community will not be recommended in the Explore section or hashtag pages, regardless of whether the post follows Instagram's original Community Guidelines. As of 2022, Instagram now provides additional tools for users with professional accounts to view the status of their account in order to determine if their posts and content are eligible to be shared on the Explore page or corresponding hashtags. Regarding content surrounding nudity, Instagram shadow bans accounts with “sexually suggestive” images, deprioritizing those content for the broader community in Explore and hashtag pages. However, with a vague shadow-banning policy and no proper definition of what it means to be “sexually suggestive”, Instagram leaves users confused as to what kind of content is or isn’t appropriate. With shadow bans, users who want to utilize their accounts to challenge cultural boundaries and societal values are faced with the consequences of content reach being limited or account visibility being restricted.

Account Suspension

Instagram accounts get suspended, banned or disabled for several reasons. Most commonly, it is because the user went against Instagram’s Community Guidelines. For example, if you post content that is copyrighted, inappropriate or misleading, your account may be suspended. The deactivation of your account may be temporary or permanent, with or without a proper cause. Temporary suspensions vary in duration depending on the actions that led to the ban. A common timeframe is 24-48 hours. If your account is banned temporarily and you believe it is done by mistake, you are recommended to remove content that triggered the Community Guidelines and wait until the mentioned date to try again. On the other hand, if your account is banned permanently and you believe it is done by mistake, you can appeal. To avoid accounts being suspended, users are recommended to avoid violating Instagram’s terms and conditions.

Ask For a Review

For content you consider to go against Instagram’s Community Guidelines, you can report it. When you report a piece of content, you will receive a notification in your “Support”, where you can check the status of something you’ve reported. If Instagram doesn’t remove content you reported, you are usually offered the chance to request another review. If the decision is upheld for the second time, you may be able to appeal to the Oversight Board depending on the type of content and circumstance.

For content Instagram considers to go against its Community Guidelines, it hides or removes it. In most situations, you are able to request a review. However, despite Instagram using both technology and people to review content for a second time, certain appeals may be prioritized for human review, restricting the amount of requests it is able to look at and evaluate. You can request a review from “Account Status” or “Support Inbox”. If the decision to remove content is revoked, Instagram will notify the user and their content will be reposted.