EMagazine July 2017

As with anything dependent on machine learning, Systrom says these features will improve over
time as more users report certain posts and share others. The company considers these
measures a critical step toward fostering “kind, inclusive” communities on the network, though
admits its work is “far from finished and perfect.”
Instagram is aware of the pitfalls of inadvertently curbing free speech in the name of protecting
users, though the system is intelligent enough to take account of the context surrounding each
communication. For example, the algorithms are more likely to favor someone you have had
frequent and positive experiences with in the past than a stranger. In addition, a user who ends
up leaving a blocked comment on one of your posts won’t know their comment has been hidden
— preventing people from tempting the censors just for fun.
Comment filtering is just one of a number of new features that have made their way to the
photo-centric social network in recent months, with the ability to archive postsrecently
undergoing testing.
Earlier in 2017, Twitter set foot on a similar path to curb abusive behavior by hiding offensive
content and “less-relevant” replies that don’t contribute to a discussion. Unlike Instagram’s
approach, the posts are still there — they have just collapsed automatically and can be viewed
with an extra tap or click. Twitter also instituted a 12-hour probation-like system for users
behaving violently toward non-followers and taken steps to ensure banned individuals cannot
simply turn around and make another account to rejoin the network.