Instagram to restrict content promoting weight loss products

Instagram posts promoting certain weight loss and cosmetic products will be restricted for some users, the company announced Wednesday.

Some posts pushing such products will be hidden for users under 18 and others will be removed from Instagram and Facebook altogether under the new rule. 

{mosads}“We want Instagram to be a positive place for everyone that uses it and this policy is part of our ongoing work to reduce the pressure that people can sometimes feel as a result of social media,” Instagram’s public policy manager, Emma Collins, said in a statement.

Instagram said that in coming weeks its app will have additional ways to report a post that violates the policy. 

Posts reported as one that promotes the use of certain weight loss products or cosmetics and has an “incentive to buy or includes a price,” will be restricted for users known to be under 18. 

Content making a “miraculous claim about certain diet or weight loss products” and linked to a “commercial offer such as a discount code” will be removed entirely. 

Actress Jameela Jamil, an outspoken body-positive activist who has called out celebrities for promoting dangerous diet products in the past, touted the policy change. 

“This is a huge win for our ongoing fight against the diet/detox industry. Facebook and Instagram taking a stand to protect the physical and mental health of people online, sends an important message out to the world,” Jamil said on Instagram’s announcement.

A HUGE DAY! A MAJOR STEP IN THE FIGHT WITH THE DIRTY SIDE OF THE DIET/DETOX INDUSTRY!!! Influencers best watch yourselves… https://t.co/F4iPTyVGU4

— Jameela Jamil (@jameelajamil) September 18, 2019 

Jamil is the founder of “I Weigh,” an online community-based, body positivity campaign described as a “revolution against shame.” 

“I’ve personally known and suffered the perils of the devious side of the diet/detox industry,” Jamil added. “A focus of our advocacy since inception, it is a proud day for ‘I Weigh’ and a day of hope for our generation, who deserve respect and protection from the celebrities and influencers that they follow.”