Instagram ‘wrong’ to take down drill music video
The owner of Instagram has been told it should not have removed a drill music video.
Meta took down the video by Chinx (OS) after being contacted by the London Metropolitan Police, which raised concerns about gang violence.
But Meta’s independent Oversight Board has ruled there was insufficient evidence to support that decision.
It said the case highlighted the “haphazard and opaque” way authorities made such requests.
Shortly afterward, Meta says, Scotland Yard contacted it to raise concerns about “gang violence” relating to the song.
It then referred the case to its independent system of appeals, the Oversight Board, which was set up and is funded by Meta. It is staffed by academics and lawyers, with the remit of scrutinizing and questioning the tech giant’s actions.
The board has now concluded the decision to remove the song from Instagram was wrong because the threat of violence was not credible. It says the track must be reinstated.
It also says there are serious concerns that drill – which is particularly popular among young black Britons – is being overpoliced.
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