Can we block an Instagram account by reporting it repeatedly?
Two Charlie Hebdo journalists, who saw their account briefly suspended after posting a front page photo of the opening of the January 2015 bombings trial, believe they are victims of a reporting campaign.
“
My Instagram account has been 'deactivated'
, Laure Daussy tweeted on Saturday evening.
The last photo I posted was the front page of Charlie Hebdo.
So it's probably hacking or mass reporting, a new form of censorship
. "
"
It is possible that massive coverage reports have caused Instagram accounts to be suspended automatically,
" cartoonist Corinne Rey, alias Coco, said the following day, whose Instagram account was also temporarily deactivated.
Sunday afternoon, both accounts were available again.
However, it is not enough to massively report an Instagram account to obtain its suspension, responds the social network.
"
We do not close an account automatically, even if it has been reported 200 times," said
a spokesperson for the company.
She could not specify how many times those of Laure Daussy and Corinne Rey have been reported.
But if they have been, they've gone down Instagram's usual moderation path, which is similar to that of its parent company, Facebook.
An error on the part of the moderators
“
From the first report, we review the account in question,
” says Instagram.
The moderators of the social network then apply its rules, which prohibit, for example, nudity, or praise of terrorism.
"
The violation of these rules may result in the removal of content, the deactivation of accounts or other restrictions,
" warns the social network in its terms of use.
But it happens that the moderators are wrong, and suspend an account wrongly, even if it has not posted anything objectionable.
According to Instagram, this is what happened in the case of the two
Charlie Hebdo
journalists
.
“
This is a misinterpretation on the part of our moderators
, regrets the representative of the social network, without specifying what the misinterpretation was about.
The accounts were deleted by mistake and we reinstated them as soon as it came to our attention
”.
“
Mass reporting raids have no effect
,” she insists.
There are people who organize themselves to report content massively, but it is in vain
. ”
