“We want Instagram to continue to be an authentic and safe place for inspiration and expression… Respect everyone on Instagram, don’t spam people or post nudity.”

– Instagram’s community guidelines

Instagram’s zeal for policing content has opened them to criticism in the past. Not so long ago the network faced extensive complaints after censoring images depicting menstruation by poet Rupi Kaur, and shortly afterwards surprised many by banning the innocuous aubergine emoji. Last week the network came under heavy fire again, as it emerged that the hashtag #curvy has been banned from Instagram search.

As the dust settled on the initial outcry, the reasons behind the ban were made clearer. Far be it from Instagram to discriminate against the plus-sized community– Instagram insiders attributed the ban to an automated process put in place to keep ‘offensive’ content in check.

According to a recent statement by an Instagram spokesperson, any hashtag which, when searched, returns a number of ‘inappropriate’ or pornographic results over a certain threshold is booted from search automatically. It’s all in the algorithms– nothing personal. And yet for the millions of women using the tag, it felt very personal indeed.

When there are a plethora of sexually explicit terms freely searchable on Instagram, to ban a tag used by many to fly the flag of body positivity seems unfair and redundant, and to blame it all on the algorithms does nothing to soften the blow.

Maintaining user safety is a key challenge for any social network. Take a look at Twitter’s ongoing struggle to quash online abuse and you’ll soon see that no-holds-barred, censor-free content can be an unruly beast, and one which leaves the way open to hostile interactions and– to put it mildly– a negative user experience.

Making hashtags related to offensive material unsearchable should make said images much harder to find, by extension keeping them off users’ screens.

What seems to be missing in the Instagram algorithm, though, is recognition that banning hashtags does not– and will never– stop users from uploading content that’s outside Instagram’s terms of use. It’s the content, not the hashtags, that’s the problem.

Despite concerns for user safety, troubling content is rife on Instagram– you only need to look at the proliferation of pro-anorexia content returned by searching the #skinny tag to see that images don’t need to contain nudity to be upsetting. Yet #skinny is still going strong, only prefaced by a content advisory warning.

The decisions behind which content is acceptable for users and which is not seems arbitrary. Nudity is not sexual by default, and sexuality is not necessarily offensive or harmful. Demonising material deemed ‘pornographic’ while more troubling material is freely accessible only adds to the frustration of users engaging with #curvy to post material which is totally acceptable to Instagram’s community guidelines.

The #curvy tag and the body acceptance movement are the embodiment of Instagram’s core principles: giving plus-sized women a safe space to embrace their bodies, and to inspire other women to do the same.

Louise Leong & Partner – Founder of Curvy Bridal

In the words of Louise Leong, founder of Curvy Bridal:

‘Curvy is a wonderful, luscious, descriptive word that should not be controlled. You can be a size 10 and Curvy… by removing the hashtag it stigmatises it, that’s the problem.’

Hashtags aren’t just about locating content– they’re the words chosen by users to identify their content in their own terms, and as such are loaded with meaning. #curvy, one of the most commonly used tags for plus-sized body positive images, isn’t just a navigational tool– it’s a term of empowerment.

Any algorithm that can take away such a crucial element of many users’ online identities is not working.

Yes, user safety must be a priority. Instagram’s concern for their users’ wellbeing is an admirable thing, especially for a network whose under-18 user base is growing daily. The trouble occurs when there’s conflict between the network’s safeguards and users’ desire for free self-expression.

Perhaps it’s time to let users decide what content they should and shouldn’t see.

Instagram, it’s time to rethink.

By Moya Vaughan Evans

Moya is an avid Instagrammer, blogging specialist and Social Media Manager at Shake Social. Struggling to maintain your own blog? We can help!

Above image via Curvy Bridal/Shake Social