Instagram is testing a new feature to protect users from harassment
The social media application company, Instagram, has started testing a new feature that allows greater protection for users from harassment and abuse, after the "wave of racism" that erupted in the wake of England's defeat against Italy in the European Football Championship final, where 3 black players were exposed in England national team for harassment and racism, both online and offline.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said the new feature, called "limits", aims to protect against such practices by allowing users to pause messages if they feel they are being targeted by abusive messages.
And Cnet.com, a technology-focused website, quoted Mosseri as saying: “There is no place for racism and incitement to hatred on Instagram. People should feel comfortable and safe expressing themselves when using the app, and we are working to ensure all of this.”
Mosseri added in a 3-minute video recording that Instagram aims to achieve two goals through the new feature, which is to reduce the amount of harassment on the platform to the lowest possible degree, and the second is to provide tools that those who are subjected to harassment and abuse can use to protect themselves on Instagram.
The “border” feature is currently being tested in a number of countries before it is rolled out on a larger scale. At the same time, Mosseri said there is a lot more work to be done, both in order to reduce hate speech on the platform or enable users to protect themselves from such chatter, adding, "Expect more from us in this area in the coming months."
