Examining Meta’s New Setting to Limit Political Content

Recently, Meta has introduced a new opt-out setting on Instagram and Threads that limits recommendations of “political content.” This setting can be found in the “Content preferences” section of your account settings on Instagram, where “Limit political content from people you don’t follow” is enabled by default.

Meta has framed this new setting as a way to give users more choice and control over the content they see on their feeds. The company claims that it is not restricting the reach of political content from accounts that users choose to follow. Despite announcing this change back in early February, Meta has only started rolling it out widely in recent weeks. Surprisingly, there have been no in-app notifications informing users about this default setting.

When asked about Meta’s decision to limit political content recommendations, company spokesperson Andy Stone explained that the primary motivation is to cater to user preferences. Meta believes that most users do not want to see political content in their feeds. Additionally, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri has openly stated that the potential engagement and revenue gained from recommending political content are not worth the negative consequences and integrity risks associated with such content.

Meta defines “political content” as posts related to governments, elections, and social topics. This broad definition allows for a wide range of content to be included under this policy. The ambiguity of what constitutes political content gives Meta significant leeway in determining what to recommend to users. If users are uncomfortable with Meta making these decisions on their behalf, it is essential to adjust their settings accordingly.

Meta’s decision to limit political content recommendations on Instagram and Threads reflects a shift towards prioritizing user preferences and user experience. By providing users with the option to filter out political content from their feeds, Meta aims to create a more personalized and enjoyable user experience. However, the company’s broad definition of political content raises concerns about potential censorship and manipulation of users’ content consumption. Users must stay vigilant and actively manage their settings to ensure that they have control over the content they see on social media platforms.