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Instagram rolling out feature to hide, remove online bullying comments

The pop-up message notifies users that if they post a negative comment, it will likely be hidden and there could be consequences.
Credit: Carl Court
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: A person poses with an iPhone displaying the Instagram logo on August 3, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, said on Tuesday that it will hide negative comments to combat online bullying.

Instagram has been testing the new feature and said it will hide or remove comments that users have reported as inappropriate in the past. Users must now click the "View Hidden Comments" button to unveil a negative comment that has been hidden. 

"We just started testing this feature in select languages," the company said.

According to CBS News, Instagram has also tweaked its comment warning feature. After a user writes a potentially offensive comment, but before the comment is posted, a pop-up message will now appear that reads: "This may go against our guidelines." The pop-up message notifies users that if they post a negative comment, it will likely be hidden and that Instagram may look into whether to delete the user's account. 

"As we kick off National Bullying Prevention Month, we’re announcing two new features to reduce negative interactions, including bullying and harassment, in comments," Instagram announced in part. "Bullying is a challenge many face, especially young people who are already dealing with additional pressures brought on by COVID-19."

The California-headquartered company announced its anti-bullying initiative in July 2019. 

As we kick off National Bullying Prevention Month, we're announcing two new features to reduce negative interactions, including bullying and harassment, in comments. Bullying is a challenge many face, especially young people who are already dealing with additional pressures brought on by COVID-19.

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