Got a problem with Instagram’s censoring of women’s nipples, even in photographs that aren’t even sexual in nature? Take it up with Apple, whose age ratings are keeping the photo sharing service from permitting exposed female breasts, the company’s CEO said on Wednesday.
According to Engadget and People.com, Instagram wants to maintain its current 12+ age rating on the iPhone and iPad maker’s App Store in order to maintain access to a wider audience. The consequences of showing nudity, the Facebook-owned social media website claims, would be a 17+ rating that would prevent anyone 16 or younger from downloading their app.
As the websites point out, however, photographs showing male nipples are not instantly deleted, something that chief executive and co-founder Kevyn Systrom reportedly did not address during his talk with those in attendance at a London-based event hosted by Dazed Media. While female nipples are censored, Instagram allows pics of breastfeeding and post-mastectomy scars.
The policy has led many members of the service, as well as celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Chrissy Teigen, and Naomi Campbell, to put up topless pictures of themselves using the “#freethenipple” hashtag in protest. Television personality Chelsea Handler also posted a photo of herself riding a horse topless, ala Russian president Vladimir Putin, that was removed by Instagram.
Is Instagram considering an R-rated version?
The #freethenipple campaign has certainly got the photo sharing service’s attention, as Mashable reported earlier this week that Instagram has considered releasing an R-rated version of their app that would allow users to share more risqué and/or explicit content with the world.
Speaking at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday, Systrom said the company had discussed a more adult version of the social network, telling event MC Katie Couric that there “have been discussions” about it. However, he emphasized that Instagram was “not in the business of hosting porn,” adding, “who decides what’s R-rated?”
A spokesperson later told Mashable that a separate version of the service was not actually being considered, and Systrom later said that Instagram had “invested heavily” in keeping their service suitable for all ages. He also said that nudity itself is not explicitly banned, but according to the website, he did not clarify exactly what types of content users can or can’t post.
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Feature Image: Niccolo Caranti/Flickr
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