A lot of people that belong to minority ethnic and racial groups have been quite concerned about the fact that many of the algorithms that are being put in place by major tech organizations are showing some signs of racial bias. The latest example of this sort of thing can be seen in the case of Nyome Nicholas-Williams, a plus sized Black model hailing from England who put up a topless picture of herself with her arms crossed over her breasts only to find that Instagram had deemed the content pornographic and had summarily dismissed it.
This resulted in heavy criticism of the platform’s algorithm with many citing clear racial bias especially when you take into account the fact that many white women or women who do not have plus sized bodies often upload pictures like these without really facing the same kind of content removal. While such protests usually fall on deaf ears when it comes to both Instagram and Facebook, it seems like this might be a different situation altogether due to the reason that Instagram has actually ended up taking the complaints seriously and has changed its policy when it comes to nudity. This is in part due to the growing influence of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as a general uproar surrounding racial biases that has been taking the internet by storm recently.
Now images featuring women who are covering their breasts in some way, shape or form through cupping them or wrapping arms around them are no longer going to be removed under the nudity policy. While Instagram has apologized to Nicholas-Williams for what it is referring to as a mistake, it is important to note that the social media platform has not acknowledged or even addressed accusations of racial bias which is concerning when you consider their broader implications.
Photo: Getty Images
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This resulted in heavy criticism of the platform’s algorithm with many citing clear racial bias especially when you take into account the fact that many white women or women who do not have plus sized bodies often upload pictures like these without really facing the same kind of content removal. While such protests usually fall on deaf ears when it comes to both Instagram and Facebook, it seems like this might be a different situation altogether due to the reason that Instagram has actually ended up taking the complaints seriously and has changed its policy when it comes to nudity. This is in part due to the growing influence of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as a general uproar surrounding racial biases that has been taking the internet by storm recently.
Now images featuring women who are covering their breasts in some way, shape or form through cupping them or wrapping arms around them are no longer going to be removed under the nudity policy. While Instagram has apologized to Nicholas-Williams for what it is referring to as a mistake, it is important to note that the social media platform has not acknowledged or even addressed accusations of racial bias which is concerning when you consider their broader implications.
Photo: Getty Images
Read next: 7 Ways To Boost Instagram Stories and Story Ads Engagement (infographic)
