Instagram Bans EDM Hashtag Due To Excessive Nudity

Instagram has officially banned another hashtag, as EDM (a popular abbreviation for electronic dance music) has been added to their blacklist.

The block on the EDM hashtag was initiated because Instagram discovered that users were using the hashtag to upload and display nude pictures. The ban means the hashtag can no longer be searched on Instagram. This occurs automatically when certain hashtags are used to share content that directly violates the Instagram community guidelines.

Gabe Madaway, a spokesperson from Instagram, commented to Time on the matter.

“We block (i.e. make unsearchable) certain hashtags when they are consistently being used to share images and videos that violate our community guidelines. In this case, #EDM was being used to share content that violates our guidelines around nudity.”

Madway adds that more work is being done to prevent occurrences such as these from happening in the future on Instagram.

“We’re working on a way to more quickly restore certain hashtags that have previously been blocked. We’re also working on ways to better communicate our policies around hashtags.”

The Instagram block of the hashtag EDM is not the first of its kind implemented by the company. Last month, Instagram banned the hashtag curvy. This caused quite an uproar in the Instagram community, as the term curvy is more used by users as a body-positive term.

Instagram commented on the curvy ban, saying: “[Instagram] did block the hashtag #curvy. It was being used to share content that violates our guidelines around nudity. Please note that the block has nothing to do with the term ‘curvy’ itself.”

Instagram eventually lifted the ban, but search results of the hashtag are more tightly investigated.

EDM began making exposure in the United States in the early 90s. Since then, EDM has been called the fastest growing genre in the world, according to Music Trades magazine.

EDM festivals have been a topic of controversy, as a growing number of deaths caused by drug usage have occurred at major festivals in recent years. These deaths have forced governments to evaluate whether the risk of hosting EDM events outweigh their beneficial impact on the economy.

Many who attend such festivals also post pictures of the festivals on Instagram.

Instagram was launched as a free mobile app in October of 2010. The Instagram app currently has over 300 million users. Though other EDM related hashtags still exist (#EDMLife, #EDMLifestyle, #EDMVibes), the principal hashtag has been removed from Instagram.

[Image via Justin Sullivan / Getty Images]