Instagram is introducing a new nudity policy this week following a worldwide campaign led by a Black British plus-sized model, who had images showing her covering her breasts with her arms removed.
Nyome Nicholas-Williams said the removal of the pictures betrayed “racial biases” in its algorithm hence the #IWantToSeeNyome campaign.
The photo-sharing app will now allow pictures of women holding, cupping, or wrapping their arms around their breasts.
Such photos were in the past removed on grounds that they were pornographic.
“It may take some time to ensure we’re correctly enforcing these new updates, but we’re committed to getting this right,” an Instagram spokeswoman said.
“Hearing her (Nyome Nicholas-Williams) feedback helped us understand where this policy was falling short, and how we could refine it,” the spokeswoman said.
Nicholas-Williams welcomed the company’s decision and said she would continue to monitor the platform to make sure the new guidelines were implemented.
“Overall I’m very glad about the policy change and what this could mean for Black plus-size bodies,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
