Instagram began tagging media accounts and publications that are controlled by the state, reports 3dnews. The first labels were noticed by journalist Casey Michel on the Redfish, In the Now and Soapbox accounts.
The aforementioned publications have received a note about being controlled by the Russian authorities. According to Engadget, US residents will see the corresponding labels not only in their accounts, but also in publications. Clicking on the tagged label will take the user to a page detailing the social media policy. The marking is not available to residents of Russia.
Instagram said that the company has developed a special set of criteria for identifying “state-controlled media.” Facebook representatives noted that 65 different experts participated in their development. The exact criteria are not named. The publications can challenge the decision of the social network, but how the complaint will be considered is also not clear.
NIX Solutions reminds that Facebook announced this system back in October 2019. Then the company said that it intends to launch a tagging system ahead of the US presidential elections in 2020. The company has promised to update this list regularly. The labels appeared less than a month before the elections on November 3.