Instagram accidentally changed users’ settings to automatically restrict political content, even though they had turned off the option to do so, the company confirmed on Wednesday.
Several Instagram users spoke out after noticing that their settings had been changed to restrict political content, an option created by parent company Meta in February, ahead of the first debate of 2024 between President Biden and former President Trump scheduled for Thursday.
In response to post Speaking to Democratic strategist Keith Edwards on a thread on another Meta app, Meta spokesman Andy Stone said resetting users’ limits on political content was “an error and should not have happened” and that the company was working on a fix.
Meta announced an update in February to restrict political content on Instagram and Threads.
The setting is intended to allow users to choose whether to “limit political content” from users they don’t follow.
Technology advocacy group Accountable Tech called on Meta to communicate details about the error to users and creators and for how long their settings were affected. Nicole Gill, executive director and co-founder of Accountable Tech, highlighted the error’s potential impact given its timing around the presidential debate.
“In the middle of an election year and on the eve of the first presidential debate, Meta has shown us all that with the flick of a switch, the company has the power to change algorithms and settings without users or creators’ knowledge, which will have a profound impact on the reach of content focused on political education, activism and mobilization,” Gill said in a statement.
The presidential candidates will debate in Atlanta on Thursday at 9 pm EDT, moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
