Instagram plans to blur explicit images sent to minors to prevent sextortion

Instagram will start automatically blurring nude photos sent via private messaging for account holders younger than 18, per an announcement from its parent company, Meta.

In addition to blurring images containing nudity, the popular social media platform will prompt users “to think twice before sending nude images.” The app will also show a notification to adult users, encouraging them to turn the feature on for their accounts.

The new feature is likely a response to increased public pressure from critics who say social media companies should be doing more to protect children from online harm. Meta also said the feature would help protect minors from “sextortion,” or the practice of scammers sending nude images to children in an effort to get them to send photos back.

“While people overwhelmingly use DMs to share what they love with their friends, family or favorite creators, sextortion scammers may also use private messages to share or ask for intimate images,” Meta shared Thursday in a blog post.

The new feature will make it so any images containing nudity will be automatically blurred, and a prompt will ask the user if they’d like to view it.

“We’ll also show them a message encouraging them not to feel pressure to respond, with an option to block the sender and report the chat,” Meta said.

The company also said “severe action” is taken against any platform users who are determined to be engaging in sextortion. The users have their accounts removed and steps are taken to prevent them from making new profiles, Meta said. If warranted, the user may also be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and local authorities.

Meta also said it has increased the data it shares with Lantern, an online child safety program.

“Meta’s proposed device-side safety measures within its encrypted environment is encouraging,” John Shehan, SVP at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said in a statement provided by Meta. “We are hopeful these new measures will increase reporting by minors and curb the circulation of online child exploitation.”

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The move comes after Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg attended Senate hearings in January, which included testimonies from families of victims who experienced abuse online.

“I’m sorry for everything you’ve all gone through. Nobody should have to go through what your families have suffered,” Zuckerberg said at the time, as The Daily Wire previously reported. “This is why we have invested so much and are going to continue industry-leading efforts to make sure that no one has to go through the types of things your families have suffered.”