An explicit video showing two individuals engaging in penetrative sex has gone viral on Instagram and X, raising serious concerns over platform accountability and content moderation.
Discovery and Content of the Video
The video, initially appearing as a typical casual clip of two young Indian men having a drink, escalates into graphic content showing one of them, whose face is blurred, becoming incapacitated. The other, whose face is visible, then engages in non-consensual penetrative sex with the unconscious man. The video, edited to resemble typical pornographic content, graphically displays their naked bodies and genitalia.
Legal Implications
Under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, even consensual sexual intercourse is considered rape if the consent is taken when one is intoxicated or incapacitated. The nature of the video raises questions about whether it depicts a staged act or an actual sexual assault. The visible man in the clip is identified as an adult entertainer with an OnlyFans account.
Instagram’s Community Guidelines and Response
Instagram’s community guidelines prohibit nudity, including photos, videos, and digitally-created content that shows sexual intercourse or genitals. Despite these guidelines, the video remained live for at least six days, accumulating nearly 7 million views and 2.4 million shares. The same user uploaded it three times without being flagged by Instagram’s moderation algorithm.
Inadequate Moderation Mechanisms
Instagram uses technologies like SimSearchNet++ to detect and remove non-consensual intimate images, but the repeated uploads of this explicit video indicate the ineffectiveness of these systems. Meta’s nudity protection feature, which blurs images containing nudity in Instagram DMs, failed to apply to this video, further highlighting gaps in the platform’s content moderation.
Meta’s Official Response and Content Moderation Failures
Alt News reached out to Meta for a response but has yet to receive a reply. The video continues to be re-uploaded by other users, and new accounts created to amplify the video using variations of the username ‘Zucc,’ referring to the meme culture term ‘zucced.’
Exposure to Minors and Psychological Impact
The video appeared on Instagram’s Reels section, accessible to users, including minors. A 2021 study found that Instagram is popular among school-going children, raising concerns about their exposure to such explicit content. Psychologists warn that exposure to hardcore pornography depicting abuse can influence adolescents’ attitudes towards sex and potentially cause psychological distress.
Legal Perspective and Recommendations
Legal experts argue that Instagram’s failure to promptly remove the video is illegal. Under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, transmitting obscene material electronically is punishable. Instagram’s delayed response highlights the need for faster content moderation.
Meta’s Deprioritization of Content Moderation
Meta has faced criticism for deprioritizing content moderation, laying off content moderators, and abolishing positions related to trust and safety. This comes amid a critical period with nearly 50 elections scheduled for 2024, impacting global populations.
Conclusion
The viral explicit video on Instagram underscores significant failures in content moderation and platform accountability, raising concerns about the effectiveness of existing measures to protect users, especially minors, from harmful content. The story will be updated pending a response from Meta.