Instagram ‘fails to protect women in the spotlight from misogynist abuse’

Instagram is not doing enough to protect women in the spotlight from misogynistic abuse online, a new report finds.

Research conducted by the Centre for Combating Digital Hate (CCDH), which involved several women in the public sphere, such as actress Amber Heard and presenter Rachel Riley, found that Instagram was failing to remove accounts that posted offensive content towards women, which was a violation of the service’s policies.

The report found that five high-profile women shared their Instagram direct messages (DMs) with an online safety group, which said it uncovered an “epidemic of misogynistic abuse” that was being “ignored” by the platform, as 90% of violating accounts remained active after sending offensive content and reporting it.

Also taking part in the study were Ms Heard and Ms Riley, Jamie Klingler, co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, Bryony Gordon, journalist and mental health campaigner, and Sharan Dhaliwal, founder of the British South Asian culture magazine Burnt Roti.

The report said threats of violence and abuse were sent to women in voice notes, as well as text and images. The CCDH suggested that Instagram’s security features were ineffective in blocking such content.

The CCDH expressed concern that the feeling of a lack of consequences for those who send insults may embolden some to send further insults.

There is an epidemic of misogynistic abuse in women’s DMs. Meta and Instagram must put women’s rights above profit

CCDH Chief Executive Officer Imran Ahmed

In response, Instagram said the CCDH wrongly concluded that just because the accounts remained active did not mean the platform took no action. Accounts that sent messages that broke the service’s rules will receive a warning and be blocked from sending direct messages for a period of time, and more severe penalties will be imposed if they continue to send offensive messages.

The social media giant said it has implemented a number of security tools that can be used to protect against questionable content, including features that automatically block accounts that do not follow a user, preventing them from contacting you directly via private messages, and a Hidden Words tool that filters messages to hide those containing offensive or vulgar terms and emojis.

However, CCDH chief executive Imran Ahmed said current procedures were insufficient and that Instagram needed to do more to protect women.

“Digital spaces provide increasingly important ways to maintain relationships, communicate and build personal brands. However, for women, the price of access to social media is misogynistic abuse and threats from abusers with impunity,” he said.

“Instagram has sided with the abusers, negligently creating a culture where abusers expect no consequences – denying women their dignity and the ability to use digital spaces without harassment.

“There is an epidemic of misogynistic abuse in women’s DMs. Meta and Instagram need to put women’s rights before profit.”

Cindy Southworth, head of women’s safety at Meta, said in a statement: “While we disagree with many of the CCDH’s conclusions, we agree that harassment of women is unacceptable.

“That is why we do not tolerate gender-based hatred or any threats of sexual violence. Last year, we announced that stronger protections should be introduced for women public figures.

Messages from people you don’t follow go to a separate requests inbox, where you can block or report the sender, or turn off message requests altogether.

“Calls from people you don’t know only go through if you accept their message request. We also offer the ability to filter abusive messages so you never see them.”