Online commenting has always been a minefield for social media companies and Instagram is no stranger to the intricate, almost labyrinthian ethics concerning the subject. While attempting to censor hate speech online may seem easy, it runs the risk of catching innocent online users in the vast net. So how exactly is Instagram attempting to make its platform friendly to everyone? By giving its users the ability to censor comments on their own accounts.
The social media platform will soon allow users to filter their own comment streams and, if they choose to do so, completely turn off comments, on their own posts. Rather than deciding what speech constitutes as offensive, by giving its users the ability to filter comments they also hand over the decision making. Thus, while some users may be more resistant to the online brand of hate speech that we see too often these days, those that deign to can instead weed out such comments. Turning off comments will be on a post-by-post basis.
The feature has been in a test circulation for some time now but has only been available to high-profile accounts, giving Instagram valuable, if skewed, feedback. It will then roll out to all users in the coming months.
Source: Washington Post
