Instagram boss Adam Mosseri vowed on Tuesday local time that the social application will rethink what Instagram is in 2022. Mosseri said in a video posted on Twitter that in the new year, Instagram will focus on improving transparency and other goals.
But he did not directly talk about any scandals that rocked Instagram and parent company Meta (formerly Facebook) in the past year. We are thinking about who we are, what our values are and what changes we want to influence in this world, Mosseri said in the video.
In 2021, Instagram was attacked by an intensifying scandal, including accusations that it ignored its range of toxicity to many teenage users. In September, the Wall Street Journal cited Instagram and Facebook’s own internal research reports that Facebook is well aware of Instagram’s harm to teenagers, especially the mental health of girls.
2022 Priorities 📝
This next year is going to be pivotal for Instagram. In addition to our industry-leading safety and wellbeing efforts, we’re focused on these four key priorities.
Hope you’re all able to get some rest over the holidays. See you in the New Year! ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/iY8uQ1EnMZ
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) December 28, 2021
This report and other reports triggered multiple hearings in the U.S. Congress against Instagram and other social applications, including one in which Mosseri was called to testify. Instagram stated that the magazine misrepresented the purpose and results of the research conducted on teenagers and that the claim that Instagram is toxic is inaccurate.
On Tuesday, Mosseri said that the company’s goals for 2022 include: integrating all of Instagram’s video sharing workaround Reels, which is a product that competes with TikTok; further embracing private information, and improving the way Instagram creators make a living on the app.
Mosseri did not directly respond to the criticism but said that Instagram will be committed to more personal control and greater transparency. “We think that if people want to shape Instagram into what they want or what is best for them, they must understand how Instagram works,” Mosseri said.