Instagram will blur nude images sent by under-18s
INSTAGRAM will blur explicit photos sent by under-18s in an effort to protect children from unsolicited images.
The social media app will automatically prevent young users from seeing images if its algorithms detect nudity being sent in private messages.
It comes amid growing concerns about social media and smartphones’ negative impact on teenagers, which has led to calls for younger teenagers to be banned from owning smartphones, and the rise of online blackmail using intimate photos of victims.
Instagram will also warn under-18s when they share explicit images of themselves that the pictures could leave them vulnerable to scams or bullying.
The app said it was introducing the change to protect children from “sextortion” scammers, who blackmail young people after encouraging them to share intimate images, either seeking money or requiring them to obtain and share intimate images of other children.
In addition, the app will force users to confirm before they forward to another account explicit images sent to them, warning that it may be illegal to do so.
The feature will be automatically turned on for under-18s and adults will be asked if they want to activate it. Instagram will use an AI algorithm within the app to detect if a photo features nudity, rather than scanning it as it is sent through Instagram’s servers.
This means that the feature will work even if messages are end-to-end encrypted, but also that the company will leave it up to users to decide whether to take action on potentially illegal activity. The company will only take action when images are reported by the users themselves.
Meta, Instagram’s parent company, said it was also developing technology that would identify accounts that might be carrying out “sextortion” scams and it will block them from finding and messaging accounts owned by teenagers.
Emails released by a US Congressional committee in January showed that chief executive Mark Zuckerberg rejected pleas from Sir Nick Clegg, its head of global affairs, to invest more in child safety, although the company said at the time that the documents were “cherry picked” and lacked context.