Instagram's latest feature is different from previous attempts by big social platforms to prevent cyberbullying because it uses AI to warn users but ultimately allows them to make the decision on what to post.
"The transparency here is helpful to those who have wondered why these big social media companies aren't doing more technologically to address bullying," Patchin said.
Instagram is the first big platform to try this method of preventing hateful content from circulating in its app. However, it's a similar concept to the app created by Trisha Prabhu in 2013. The then 13-year-old created a social platform called ReThink, which also alerts users when their message may be offensive. ReThink was praised for its innovation, but Patchin says solutions need to be incorporated into already widely trafficked platforms to be the most effective.
Patchin says these big social companies are moving in the right direction and are getting closer to finding a method for monitoring harmful content and cyberbullying.
"Companies have devoted a lot of energy to refining these systems, and they're getting better every year," he said. "They do have a responsibility and obligation to lead the way and at least experiment with these kinds of technologies."
Instagram has plans to continue beefing up its safety features and will soon introduce a "restrict" feature, which allows users to filter content from specific accounts without blocking them. Instagram's Mosseri wrote in the blog post that the company decided to add that feature after users said they were worried that blocking accounts that were posting offensive comments on their page would lead to retaliation.
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