Tech UPTechnologyIt's over: Instagram implements new tools against cyberbullying

It's over: Instagram implements new tools against cyberbullying

In Mexico, 17.7 million people aged 12 and over were victims of cyberbullying in 2021, according to the Inegi Cyberbullying Module (MOCIBA). In proportion, this would be equivalent to the whole of Guatemala or Syria having suffered from cyberbullying.

But not all cyberbullying is the same, or occurs in the same digital spaces. According to the one prepared by the ANAR Foundation and Mutua Madrileña, WhatsApp is the main means by which cyberbullying occurs (66.9%), followed by Instagram (53.1%) and TikTok (48.6%), the latter being where it is growing the most. cyberbullying in primary education.

UNICEF indicates that cyberbullying is harassment or intimidation through digital technologies. It can happen on social networks, messaging platforms or games. Some common examples include:

  1. Spreading lies or posting embarrassing photos or videos of someone on social media.
  2. Sending hurtful, abusive or threatening messages, images or videos through messaging platforms
  3. Impersonate another person and send aggressive messages on behalf of that person or through fake accounts.

In Mexico, according to the MOCIBA, the main people who suffer from cyberbullying are women between the ages of 20 and 29, followed by women between the ages of 12 and 19. However, cyberbullying is not exclusive to one gender, with men ages 20-29 also reporting high rates of cyberbullying.

On the other hand, the LGBTQ+ community is one of the groups most exposed to being attacked virtually, since according to , one in four adolescents suffer from cyberbullying for reasons of gender and 40% for their sexual orientation.

Given this, social networks have strict privacy policies against cyberbullying that are increasingly being redefined and expanded.

The new Instagram tools

On October 20, its tools against cyberbullying.

For example, now when you block someone, you’ll have the option to block other accounts of that person, making it more difficult for them to interact with you on Instagram again.

Other new tools also include:

  1. Multiple Account Lockout Update:

    In addition to being able to block all of a user’s existing accounts, it will also be possible to block any future accounts that they may create.

  2. Kindness Reminders:

    A reminder that will appear in Instagram direct messages, encouraging creators to send positive messages.

  3. Comment Response Notices:

    This test will build on existing comment warnings (which let people know if a comment they’re about to post may violate the Community Guidelines), and display a reminder to let people know they’re about to reply to a potentially dangerous comment. offensive, preventing the cycle from continuing.

  4. Hidden Words Enhancements:

  • Similarity matching for the default word list for Latin languages (already exists for English comments);
  • Hidden words for replies in Stories, so that offensive message requests sent in replies to Stories are sent directly to the hidden message requests folder;
  • Expanded word list to provide greater coverage of the default list in currently supported languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Italian, Arabic, Korean, French, German, and Japanese)
  • New languages: Persian, Turkish, Indonesian, Russian, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, and Tamil

Social networks against cyberbullying

Social networks have strict privacy policies on cyberbullying and online intimidation and are increasingly expanding their tools to prevent and punish them.

For example, Meta has against bullying and harassment, where they even make a distinction between public figures and non-public people.

“For public figures, we removed serious attacks and some where the public figure is tagged directly in the post or comment. When it comes to non-public persons, we apply even stricter protection measures. We remove content intended to humiliate or embarrass, for example, statements about someone’s personal sexual activity.

In the case of Twitter, its policy states: “we prohibit any behavior that threatens or intimidates, or that is in any way intended to embarrass or demean others. In addition to posing a risk to people’s safety, abusive behavior can also cause physical and emotional harm to those affected.”

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