Instagram to soon roll out new rules for account removal.
It will also take help of Facebook fact-checkers to check spread of misinformation.
The company will also introduce a feature to request a review of the removed post.
In a bid to make the platform more secure, Instagram has announced three major changes to the photo and video-sharing app that will roll out “soon.” Firstly, the company will frame a new set of rules for banning accounts. Secondly, it will now let the Facebook fact-checkers scrutinize the posts, and thirdly, it will introduce a feature that will let users appeal against the company’s decision to takedown any post.
Instagram told Engadget that it is working on a new policy for account removals that will start rolling out “soon.” Currently, Instagram’s policy allows “a certain percentage” of violations before removing an account. With the new guidelines in place, Instagram will remove accounts after an undisclosed amount of violations. What’s noteworthy is that these rules will be the same for every user, and the company won’t share the exact number of strikes it will put in place. The company hopes that by this way, violators won’t be able to take the advantage of the system.
The second major announcement will help the company curb misinformation on the platform. Reportedly, Instagram will soon run potentially false posts past Facebook's fact-checking partners who will scrutinise the post. In this process, Instagram will follow the policies put in place by Facebook, according to which, the false posts will not be deleted but they won't appear in the Explore tab and in the hashtag result pages.
“Our approach to misinformation is the same as Facebook's — when we find misinfo, rather than remove it, we'll reduce its distribution,” a spokesperson was quoted as saying. Moreover, Instagram is also considering adding pop-ups that appear when people search for misinformation.
The third key announcement is a feature that will let users request a review of a post that has been taken down. According to the company, if it realises it made a mistake, it will restore posts. Moreover, every appeal will be sent to a different reviewer than the one who made the original decision to take the post down. This will be done to ensure that the posts are thoroughly inspected. Instagram also says that it is developing a text- and media-matching technology that will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to extract text from a meme and analyse its content whether its harmful or not.
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