Instagram in Hot Water for Disabling Mom Blogger’s Account Over Innocent Photo
The big social networks seem to have a hard time determining what is and is not inappropriate, and to their PR detriment, they seem to make the wrong judgement time and again. The latest case in point comes out of the Instagram camp, that this week decided to disable a mommy blogger’s account for posting ‘inappropriate’ photos of her kids that seem completely innocent.
Courtney Adamo, the writer of Babyccino Kids, tells the story in a blog post published two days ago. Apparently she had recently been receiving email after email saying that certain photos on her account had been flagged as inappropriate and removed.
She received several emails over the course of a week but, for the life of her, couldn’t tell what images had been removed. She assumed it was an error.
On Wednesday evening she posted the photo below to her account: a sweet image of Adamo’s daughter Marlow in her ‘big girl undies,’ displaying her toddler belly with pride at the end of a successful day of potty-training.
The next morning she had received another email, and the photo was gone. This time she was certain it was a mistake:
I read the entire page twice and was positive that I had not violated any rules. Unless a baby’s belly is considered ‘nudity’… but surely it isn’t! She is a BABY! […] to entertain the idea that it is even remotely inappropriate is a disgusting thing in itself. Again, I was sure there was a mistake, so I reposted the photo. And by yesterday evening my account was disabled.
Four years of family photos and memories and comments and well wishes and direct messages gone overnight. “I am sick just thinking about it,” she writes.
My IG feed was disabled for posting a photo of my baby's belly. Some thoughts on our blog tonight: http://t.co/HIlFjhqqrb
— Babyccino Kids (@babyccinokids) June 20, 2014
She’s reached out to Instagram through Twitter and, given the media attention her story is getting, chances are good her story will reach the company’s ears soon. But as of this writing the account is still down, and BuzzFeed says Adamo has received neither explanation nor apology from Instagram as of this morning.
“I really do want to get my Instagram account back and will continue to use it if I do,” she tells the viral news site. “I also want to make sure that my experience is educational for others and changes an Instagram policy that is overbearing and imbalanced.”
Image credits: Screenshot and photograph by Courtney Adamo
