Instagram Bans Self-harm Memes

After recently putting stricter policies on sexual content, Instagram also announced that the platform is cracking down on memes and drawings about self-harm.

On the 27th, Instagram announced that their content guidelines will expand to censor any "memes and drawings" that feature self-harm. "We have expanded our policies to prohibit more types of self-harm and suicide content," said Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram. "We will no longer allow fictional depictions of self-harm or suicide on Instagram, such as drawings or memes or content from films or comics that use graphic imagery."

The decision comes after advice from "academics and mental health organisations like the Samaritans in the UK and National Suicide Prevention Line in the US," Mosseri also wrote. Earlier this year, Instagram placed a ban on graphic depictions of self-harm, and was able to flag over 834,000 images, 77% of which the app was able to catch before it was reported. The content was put behind a "sensitivity screen."

Instagram was pushed to tackle self-harm content on its platform after 14-year-old Molly Russell took her life allegedly as a result of viewing self-harm content on the platform. In response to Instagram's new decision, Russell's father stated, "I hope (they) deliver."