Despite Instagram’s reputation for censoring certain images involving nudity, the company has apparently thought about allowing more sensitive content on the platform.
During Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday, Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom said the company has talked about creating an R-rated version of the service.
The panel, which also included Girls star Lena Dunham and Yahoo’s Katie Couric, began with a discussion of Dunham’s take on Instagram. She said she found it more positive than most social media, like Twitter, which she taken steps back from more than once.
The discussion quickly turned toward Instagram’s policy on nudity, which has come under increasing scrutiny as Instagram’s user base grows.
Couric asked Systrom if he would you ever consider creating an R-rated version of the service.
“There have been discussions,” he said, noting that it becomes a slippery slope about “who decides what’s R-rated.”
“We’re not in the business of hosting porn,” he added. “We focus on people being able to express themselves in beautiful ways.”
Nudity has been a controversial topic for Instagram as the company grapples with finding an appropriate balance with free expression. Critics have maintained the platform enforces policies that censor women’s bodies, while Instagram has said it relies on its community to report inappropriate content.
Systrom reiterated this on Tuesday, saying the company has “invested heavily” in maintaining Instagram’s positive environment from the very beginning. He said nudity itself is not banned — though he did little to clarify what is, making for a rather unclear policy.
The discussion Tuesday coincided with Instagram’s five-year anniversary.
