Instagram has begun banning users who post content filmed with Meta's smart glasses that harasses or exploits unsuspecting members of the public, following mounting criticism over a wave of so-called pickup and prank videos built around secretly recording strangers, particularly women, without their knowledge or consent.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed the policy change in an Instagram Stories Q&A, first reported by Business Insider. "If you're posting content that is taking advantage of people and harassing them, like a lot of these pickup line kind of videos that we've heard of and seen, then we're going to take the content down," Mosseri said. "We don't want people to be surreptitiously taking videos of other people and harassing them and then posting them on our platform. So we're trying to fight that in any way we can."

What kind of content is being targeted

The crackdown covers two main categories of videos that have proliferated on the platform: so-called pickup videos, in which creators approach strangers, often women, in public settings while secretly recording the interaction with hidden cameras built into their smart glasses, and prank videos that typically target service workers, including cashiers and fast-food employees, with content that frequently verges into harassment. Creators have recorded these encounters in a range of public settings, including gyms, airports, bars, stores and public streets, often without the other person ever realizing they were being filmed.

Accounts already removed

Business Insider reported that at least two prominent accounts built around this kind of........

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