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COMPUTER SAYS NO As Instagram announces tougher rules against what it considers to be ‘inappropriate’ material, fashion and beauty photographer Dave Kai Piper takes a highly personal look at social media in general.
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HOTO SHARING SERVICE Instagram has declared a blanket review of its policies regarding what it considers to be ‘inappropriate’ content, and if you happen to be a photographer who posts sometimes edgy material, then it could mean that your view counts will plummet. While the intention, which is part of a broader set of ‘integrity’ announcements by Facebook, the parent company, appears to be designed to limit the availability of pornographic imagery, in reality anything that’s construed to be ‘sexually suggestive' could be demoted and hidden from Explore and Hashtag. Instagram is also planning to hide the number of likes a photographer might have to focus attention on the image rather than engagement, with this programme now rolling out in Canada. While doubtless preventing the circulation of some genuinely offensive material the new ruling risks creating a situation where machine learning algorithms and content moderators are making the decision on which photos and videos are recommendable, and while ‘NonRecommendable’ photos, will still be visible to individual followers through the feed and in Stories, the broad reach that might once have been enjoyed will be taken away. It raises the issue of how many classic studies of the past, by the likes of Bill Brandt, Man Ray, Edward Weston and the edgier work of Helmut Newton and Bob Carlos Clarke would be allowed to be shared if those photographers were working today and it could easily affect how contemporary photographers such as fashion and beauty specialist Dave Kai Piper extend their reach. We asked Dave for his views on social media in general and how he sees the new ruling.
DAVE KAI PIPER - OPINION
Jump back three years ago, it’s my birthday and my partner surprises me with a trip to London to visit a private Helmut Newton gallery. Such an amazing day with hours to revel in the work of a photographer who today would be the very person who is targeted by mainstream media’s incoming rule changes. Would a photographer like Newton be able to use Instagram? I’ve always liked images that have a strong storyline and which can provoke thoughts and tension, which is why I found an affinity with Newton. Elements of his work fall into mine and I’ve been shooting a blend of fashion and nude images for years. I’ve been banned on Facebook before and learned a while back that my account is not really my account. Eventually I felt that putting time
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and effort into a media that I had little control over was not really for me. I know that as a photographer I’ve lost out on growing my business and my community via these free social platforms, and I’m fine with that: I’m not an ‘influencer’ and I never want to be. A few days ago Tech Crunch reported on the fact that Instagram, - through its parent company Facebook - is having a crackdown on edgy memes and scantily clad girls, but somehow I guess this won’t affect Kim Kardashian or Kardi B. You see, this is about public perception and money. The big corporations want to be seen as trying to make their communities safer, but it seems to me that they don’t want to lose money by doing it. Instagram says: ‘We have begun reducing the spread of posts that are inappropriate but do not go against Instagram’s Community
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