WIRED25 Summit 2019 - Day 1

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Instagram is addressing concerns that the Black community and other marginalized groups of people aren’t being treated equally on its platform.

Taking to, well Instagram, CEO Adam Mosseri said in a statement that the company owes its users action over words at this time. We cannot find the lie.

“In the last few weeks, we’ve seen an incredible movement happening around the world. As these important conversations have come to our platform, we’ve seen communities on Instagram mobilizing to demand justice and express solidarity, support Black-owned businesses, elevate Black voices, and raise awareness for the equality of Black people everywhere,” Mosseri began, adding “At the same time, we’re also hearing concern about whether we suppress Black voices and whether our products and policies treat everyone equally. The irony that we’re a platform that stands for elevating Black voices, but at the same time Black people are often harassed, afraid of being ‘shadowbanned’, and disagree with many content takedowns, is not lost on me. This is a moment when people around the world are rightfully demanding actions over words, and we owe the same to our community.”

“It starts with accounting for the experiences and challenges that underrepresented groups, such as our Black community, face when they use Instagram,” he continued. “We’ve done a lot of work to better understand the impact our platform has on different groups, and that’s helped us get to where we are today. But I think there’s more to do across some key areas, which fit into our broader company commitments. We need to better support the Black community within our own organization, as well as on our platform.”

Mosseri specifically wants to improve in the areas of harassment, account verification inclusivity, content distribution, and algorithmic bias.

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“This work is going to take some time, but we’re going to provide updates over the next few months – both about what we learn and what we address,” he adds, saying that he wants Instagram to be a place where everyone feels safe, supported, and free to express themselves.

Read his full message HERE and chime in with your thoughts.