Instagram knew in 2018 that nudity in DMs was a problem and it took 6 years to implement protections

Six years before Meta incorporated the function that blur nude images in direct messages (DM) From its social networks, doubts have already arisen internally about this type of content, which has led to the company being questioned about the delay in its implementation.

In April 2024, Instagram introduced a series of tools intended to protect users against ‘sextortion’ and grooming’ -sexual harassment of an adult to a minor- through the sending of intimate images in DMs, which included a function that blurred the images in which nudity was detected, so that it was the user who chose whether they wanted to see them or not.

The concern about sending these types of photographs through direct messages is much older. According to a statement recently unsealed in a federal lawsuit, a 2018 email chain with the vice president and director of Information Security of Meta, Guy Rosen, already warned that they could occur “horrible things.”

“I think it’s pretty clear that you can send content problematic in any messaging application, be it Instagram or any other,” recently declared the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, within the framework of the lawsuit against social networks for their potential addictive and harmful design, and reported in TechCrunch.

Mosseri, questioned by prosecutors who wanted to know why the company had taken so long to implement basic protection measures in direct messages, said the company was trying to find a balance between users’ interest in privacy and their interest in security.

His statement also revealed data from a survey conducted with users between 13 and 15 years old: 19.2 percent acknowledged that they had seen nude or sexual images on Instagram that they didn’t want to see, and 8.4 percent who had seen someone hurt themselves or threaten to hurt themselves in the last seven days of using the app.

This statement is part of the lawsuit that accuses Meta, among other companies in the sector, of deliberately design functions from Instagram and Facebook addictive for users, especially minors, with harmful consequences for their mental health.

Recently, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, testified before a jury in Los Angeles (United States), in which he was questioned about the functions designed for its social networks and its strategy to attract users.

The manager maintained that they are designed to make Instagram be “useful”” and not to deliberately increase users’ time on the platform, attract minors or cause mental health harm.