Instagram has today announced it will be updating its offensive comment filter to automatically remove anything that resembles bullying.
If a comment contains attacks on a person’s appearance or character, or threatens that person’s health or wellbeing, it’ll be automatically hidden. If the comments continue to be made, the issue will be elevated and an alert sent to Instagram so they can address it.
A comment filter was originally introduced to the photo-sharing platform last year, with a focus on toxic and divisive comments and a way to block key words. Now today’s update today broadens what gets hidden to include the aforementioned types of comments.
In a post to Instagram, the company’s CEO Kevin Systrom said: “Starting today, Instagram will filter bullying comments intended to harass or upset people in our community. To be clear: we don't tolerate bullying on Instagram. Our Community Guidelines have always prohibited bullying on our platform, and I'm proud to announce this next step in our ongoing commitment to keeping Instagram an inclusive, supportive place for all voices.
“We also believe in promoting kindness — encouraging our community to support one another both on and off Instagram. On Saturday we will host a Kindness Prom to celebrate people on our platform who are spreading positivity. These young leaders are inspiring their peers by helping kindness, acceptance and support grow on Instagram and in the world.
“Since Mike and I founded Instagram, it's been our goal to make it a safe place for self-expression and to foster kindness within the community. This update is just the next step in our mission to deliver on that promise.”
Users will be able to disable the filter if they’d like to see the unedited comments on their feeds, but it is currently enabled by default.
For now, the new anti-bullying filter is only launching for English-language comments, but Instagram plans to offer it in other languages in the future, too.
