The recent Senate hearing on social media platforms brought together tech CEOs who faced a barrage of tough questions regarding the policing of their platforms. The hearing was marked by senators from both parties expressing their concerns about issues such as sexually explicit content, self-harm content, harassment, bullying, child pornography, and more.
One particular topic of discussion revolved around Instagram's restriction of sexually explicit content for teens aged 13 to 15. Republican Senator Mike Lee raised the question of why this restriction did not also apply to 16 and 17-year-olds. The CEO of Instagram clarified that sexually explicit content is not allowed on the platform for users of any age. They revealed that their AI systems automatically identify and remove approximately 99% of such content. They also highlighted recent efforts to restrict self-harm content, explaining that new research suggests it may be more beneficial to not show such content at all.
