Instagram head Adam Mosseri has promised to take measures to combat racial inequality on the platform.

According to his statement:

"In the last few weeks, we’ve seen an incredible movement happening around the world. As these important conversations have come to our platform, we’ve seen communities on Instagram mobilizing to demand justice and express solidarity, support Black-owned businesses, elevate Black voices, and raise awareness for the equality of Black people everywhere. 

At the same time, we’re also hearing concern about whether we suppress Black voices and whether our products and policies treat everyone equally. The irony that we’re a platform that stands for elevating Black voices, but at the same time Black people are often harassed, afraid of being ‘shadowbanned’, and disagree with many content takedowns, is not lost on me. This is a moment when people around the world are rightfully demanding actions over words, and we owe the same to our community. 

It starts with accounting for the experiences and challenges that underrepresented groups, such as our Black community, face when they use Instagram. We’ve done a lot of work to better understand the impact our platform has on different groups, and that’s helped us get to where we are today. But I think there’s more to do across some key areas, which fit into our broader company commitments. We need to better support the Black community within our own organization, as well as on our platform."

Mass protests and riots have been held in many US states after the death of African-American George Floyd.

Three police officers handcuffed Floyd, threw him to the ground and apprehended him, and one of them pressed his knee on the man's neck. All four police officers involved in the detention have been fired and charged.