Amid the controversy surrounding Instagram's attempts to counter TikTok and news related to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who indicated that the volume of recommended content is set to double next year, the company has remained in the headlines this week. Instagram's team seeks to learn more about the experiences of marginalized communities on the platform. Instagram states that it needs additional demographic information to gain a broader understanding of the various types of experiences individuals may have on the platform. In a blog post, Instagram mentioned, "If we do not know people's race, we are limited in our ability to assess how our products affect different communities."
Furthermore, some users in the United States will be asked to share this information about themselves starting today and over the next few months. Participation in the survey is optional and will not be visible to everyone. The company notes that participating in the survey will not alter anything about how the platform is used.
Additionally, Instagram will not host the survey itself; it will be conducted by YouGov, a research and polling company that will gather the data, encrypt it, and share the information among various research institutions, according to Engadget. Ultimately, Instagram will receive data that cannot be linked to individual users. YouGov will delete the data after 30 days.
Instagram's head, Adam Mosseri, pledged in 2020 to study how the platform impacts different communities, particularly regarding harassment, content distribution, and bias in algorithms. A few months later, Instagram stated that it was building an equity team focused on "better understanding and addressing bias in product development and people's experiences on the platform."
