Instagram is neglecting to take threats against female users seriously, according to a new report.
The Centre for Counting Digital Hate (CCDH) conducted a study using five well-known female celebrities and influencers who gave the safety organization access to the direct messages they received on the platform. The findings showed overwhelming neglect.
Calling out an “epidemic of misogyny,” the CCDH reported that of the accounts that were reported to Instagram for violating the company’s terms of service regarding threatening and abusive messages, 90% of the offending accounts remained active after Instagram was notified.
The study revealed that whether the abusive messages were sent in the form of text, images, or voice notes, Instagram’s safety features proved ineffective and blocking them. The worry is that, with no consequences evident, the behavior from these offenders will grow more demonstrative or blatant.
Instagram defended their safety measures, saying that accounts simply remaining active is not proof that no action was taken, and that account-holders are given “strikes” for each reported action that violates the platform’s terms of service. They are also blocked for a period of time from sending direct messages, and punishments grow stiffer if the offenses continue.
Instagram also touted tools already in place on the platform like the ability to block messages from accounts that the user doesn’t follow, and a tool called Hidden Words that filters out messages containing terms and emojis considered to be offensive or abusive.
Instagram’s parent company, Meta, also issued a statement from Cindy Southworth, the company’s head of women’s safety, that read, in part, “While we disagree with many of the CCDH's conclusions, we do agree that the harassment of women is unacceptable.”
CCDH chief executive Imran Ahmed says though that more needs to be done.
“Digital spaces provide increasingly important ways to maintain relationships, communicate and build personal brands. For women, however, the cost of admission to social media is misogynist abuse and threats sent by abusers with impunity,” Ahmed said, according to Bloomberg.
“Instagram has chosen to side with abusers by negligently creating a culture in which abusers expect no consequences - denying women dignity and their ability to use digital spaces without harassment,” he continued. “There is an epidemic of misogynist abuse taking place in women's DMs. Meta and Instagram must put the rights of women before profit.”
The women who participated in the study were South Asian culture magazine Burnt Roti founder Sharan Dhaliwal, journalist Byrony Gordon, actress Amber Heard, Reclaim These Streets co-founder Jamie Klingler, and British daytime talk show host Rachel Riley.
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