Instagram removes harassment videos filmed with Meta AI glasses
Instagram removed harassment and prank videos filmed with Meta AI glasses after the platform's head stated the company would remove content showing people being harassed or exploited. Meta's glasses include anti-surreptitious recording features, but the abundance of harassment content demonstrates moderation challenges on the platform.
What happened
Instagram removed harassing and prank videos filmed with Meta AI glasses. Adam Mosseri, Instagram's head, stated on Stories: 'We will remove videos recorded on smartglasses that show people being harassed or exploited,' and 'If you're posting content that's exploiting people or harassing people—like, you know, some of the pickup lines we've heard or seen—we are going to remove that content.'
Examples of removed content included videos of users spraying foul-smelling liquid on candles near Walmart shoppers and asking them to smell it, and videos of fake feces placed in fast-food restaurant bathrooms. Instagram previously suspended two pickup artist accounts with over 1 million followers each that filmed women in public without consent.
Reported impact
Meta AI glasses enabled users to film people without their knowledge or consent, facilitating harassment content on Instagram's platform.
Governance controls
Meta's AI glasses include a white LED that lights up during recording, and the camera cannot be activated if the LED is hidden, designed to prevent covert recording. Meta has also actively removed advertisements and marketplace listings for modified AI glasses that disable the anti-surreptitious recording protections.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.