The recent events in the US which fueled the riots about racism, police brutality, and the general behavior around Black people, many tech companies came forward in support of the slogan ‘Black Lives Matter.’
Recently the CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri said that the company is taking some important steps to better support the black community. He pointed out that although everyone is jumping the bandwagon in support of Black people and even Instagram has also always tried to give its platform for the Black people and all other minorities to help them reach people and raise their voice, it is not new that still their voices often remain unheard, and they become a victim of bias and prejudice. Mosseri says that he is well aware of the fact that even on his platform, Blacks and other minorities often get harassed, shadow banned, and many times their content or any content that revolves around them gets taken down.
People from all over the world demand some solid action against racism now, and Mosseri said that they are questioning the policies and products of Instagram about their un-intentional steps that somehow promote racial bias, and harassment.
So now, Mosseri has decided to make actions speak louder than words. He is planning to take practical steps to review content and deal with harassment and verification issues.
He said that Instagram will now focus on four areas - Harassment, Verification issues, Distribution, and Algorithmic bias.
To deal with harassment, Mosseri said that Instagram will look at special safety issues that black Instagrammers face both on and off the platform, and they will find ways to protect these people from these experiences.
Instagram’s verification process has raised some concerns if it supports certain groups only. So, now they are going to make the verification criteria more inclusive and generalized towards all types of people without any discrimination.
As per Mosseri, Instagram will now look into Instagram’s algorithms to see if they are also affected by racial bias, or if AI bias is affecting its decision making. Also, from now on, the content will be seriously reviewed and filtered for any kind of discriminatory posts. The content distribution process will also become more transparent.
Mosseri says that his mission is to make Instagram a place where all people are treated equally, without any kind of class, gender, racial, or geographic discrimination. Everyone should have a right to express their opinion on the platform, and with the new steps, he is hopeful that they will achieve their goal soon.
The ideas sound really nice and Mosseri’s intent also sounds good, but will he be able to achieve all of that in such a partial, racist, and judgmental world? This will remain a question until time tells whether Instagram’s revised policies are effective or not. It also depends on whether people around the globe will also change themselves and become more large-hearted and tolerant towards others soon or not?
Read next: The Instagram influencer market reached $5.24 billion in the last year.
Recently the CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri said that the company is taking some important steps to better support the black community. He pointed out that although everyone is jumping the bandwagon in support of Black people and even Instagram has also always tried to give its platform for the Black people and all other minorities to help them reach people and raise their voice, it is not new that still their voices often remain unheard, and they become a victim of bias and prejudice. Mosseri says that he is well aware of the fact that even on his platform, Blacks and other minorities often get harassed, shadow banned, and many times their content or any content that revolves around them gets taken down.
People from all over the world demand some solid action against racism now, and Mosseri said that they are questioning the policies and products of Instagram about their un-intentional steps that somehow promote racial bias, and harassment.
So now, Mosseri has decided to make actions speak louder than words. He is planning to take practical steps to review content and deal with harassment and verification issues.
He said that Instagram will now focus on four areas - Harassment, Verification issues, Distribution, and Algorithmic bias.
To deal with harassment, Mosseri said that Instagram will look at special safety issues that black Instagrammers face both on and off the platform, and they will find ways to protect these people from these experiences.
2/ Addressing the feedback we get has always been an integral part of how we work, and has helped us build a better Instagram for everyone. We’re going to focus on four areas:— Adam Mosseri 😷 (@mosseri) June 15, 2020
• Harassment
• Account verification
• Content distribution
• Algorithmic bias
Instagram’s verification process has raised some concerns if it supports certain groups only. So, now they are going to make the verification criteria more inclusive and generalized towards all types of people without any discrimination.
As per Mosseri, Instagram will now look into Instagram’s algorithms to see if they are also affected by racial bias, or if AI bias is affecting its decision making. Also, from now on, the content will be seriously reviewed and filtered for any kind of discriminatory posts. The content distribution process will also become more transparent.
Mosseri says that his mission is to make Instagram a place where all people are treated equally, without any kind of class, gender, racial, or geographic discrimination. Everyone should have a right to express their opinion on the platform, and with the new steps, he is hopeful that they will achieve their goal soon.
The ideas sound really nice and Mosseri’s intent also sounds good, but will he be able to achieve all of that in such a partial, racist, and judgmental world? This will remain a question until time tells whether Instagram’s revised policies are effective or not. It also depends on whether people around the globe will also change themselves and become more large-hearted and tolerant towards others soon or not?
Read next: The Instagram influencer market reached $5.24 billion in the last year.
