Kate Moseley
2 min
Updated: Oct 23, 2021
Social media platform Instagram launches new tool to filter abusive direct message (DM) requests.
Not only is Instagram using filters for direct messaging, but will also allow users to limit other people from commenting on posts and sending DMs. If there are users who still attempt to send harmful messages to others on the platform, they will see stronger warnings against doing so.
Instagram introduced these features after they heard from creators and public figures about the increase of abuse they would receive.
They specifically referenced the Euro 2020 final, by highlighting:
"We saw this after the recent Euro 2020 final, which resulted in a significant - and unacceptable - spike in racist abuse towards players".
Creators and public figures did not want to turn off their messages entirely as they want to hear from their community.
By Instagram introducing this feature, it allows for the user to take control of what they get to see. By introducing Limits, which is a tool that automatically hides comments and DM requests from other users who don't follow you, or have just followed you recently.
This feature allows for long-standing followers to still be able to contact you, whilst minimizing users who may be contacting you purely to target you.
The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri who wrote the blog post announcing these new updates, made it apparent they want to crack down on hate speech on the platform. He said:
"We will continue to invest in organisations focused on racial justice and equity, and look forward to further partnership with industry, governments and NGOs to educate and help root out hate" -Adam Mosseri.
Despite these features, Mosseri knows this won’t entirely fix the problem, he said: "We know there’s more to do, including improving our systems to find and remove abusive content more quickly, and holding those who post it accountable".
Source: Ground News
Read the original article here