Instagram will ask users to think again if they are about to post something that could be considered offensive.聽The social media site has started rolling out the new feature and early tests have found it can encourage some people to undo their comment and share something less hurtful, says聽Adam Mosseri, Instagram鈥檚 CEO.
An example of how the feature works would be where a person types 鈥測ou are so ugly and stupid鈥�, and is then interrupted with a notice saying: 鈥淎re you sure you want to post this? Learn more鈥�.
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If the user clicks 鈥渓earn more鈥�, a notice tells them: 鈥淲e are asking people to rethink comments that seem similar to others that have been reported.鈥�
鈥淭his intervention gives people a chance to reflect and undo their comment and prevents the recipient from receiving the harmful comment notification,鈥� says Mosseri.
He says online bullying was 鈥渁 complex issue鈥� and that Instagram has for years used artificial intelligence to detect bullying and other types of harmful content.
The anti-bullying initiative follows some high-profile cases, such as the death of British teenager Molly Russell. After Russell, aged 14, took her own life in November 2017, her father Ian said he believed Instagram was partly responsible for her death.
Speaking at the NSPCC鈥檚 How Safe Are Our Children? conference in June, he said: 鈥淚t is important to acknowledge that they (tech firms) do a lot of good, but sadly their platforms are being used by people to do harm and they have not done enough to prevent that. Unless change happens, their platforms will become toxic.鈥�
Instagram is also due to launch another tool, called Restrict, designed to help users filter abusive comments without needing to block others. The tool will mean that restricted people will not be able to see when a user is active on聽on Instagram or when direct messages have been read.
鈥淲e鈥檝e heard from young people in our community that they鈥檙e reluctant to block, unfollow, or report their bully because it could escalate the situation, especially if they interact with their bully in real life,鈥� says Mosseri.
