Disturbing footage that appears to show child abuse has been ‘recommended’ to users of a service launched to take on YouTube and Snapchat.
Instagram’s algorithms, which promote content on IGTV, have been suggesting a slew of graphic clips – including one of a mutilated penis, it has been claimed.
Others show underage girls posing suggestively and have attracted millions of views.
The Facebook owned social media platform apologised after reports of the content emerged.
Two specific videos that were forwarded to the police have since been removed – five days after they were flagged using Instagram’s abuse reporting facility.
Disturbing footage that appears to show child abuse has been ‘recommended’ to users of a service launched to take on YouTube and Snapchat. Instagram’s algorithms, which promote content on IGTV, have been suggesting a slew of graphic clips
The findings are the result of an investigation by Business Insider (BI), who spent nearly three weeks monitoring IGTV for inappropriate material.
IGTV recommends content through its For You tab, which plays videos as soon as you open IGTV, a Following menu, which offers videos from people you follow, and a a Popular section.
They set up a fake account with an age setting of 13 – the minimum age limit for using the platform – as well as monitoring their own reporters accounts.
Within days, a clip showing a young girl – believed to be 11 or 12 – in a bathroom mirror about to take her top off was recommended.
It was suggested in the For You section, despite the account in question having no prior browsing history, and also appeared in the Popular Tab, the site reports.
Another clip showed an underage girl exposing her belly and pouting for the camera.
These specific clips – which had attracted a combined total of more than one million views – were sent to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children who contacted law enforcement immediately.
The charity – which regularly reviews content depicting children that could be considered indecent – contacted law enforcement over the suggestive poses.
‘This is yet another example of Instagram falling short by failing to remove content that breaches its own guidelines,’ a spokesman for the charity told BI.
Another video, recommended to the ’13-year-olds’ account, purportedly showed graphic footage of a penis undergoing an operation involving a motorised saw.
IGTV lets users upload clips that can range from 15 seconds to 60 minutes in length, up from its previous 60 second limit. Kevin Systrom, CEO and co-founder of Instagram revealed the new service in June at a press event in New York City (pictured)
Speaking to MailOnline, a spokesman for Instagram said: ‘We care deeply about keeping all of Instagram – including IGTV – a safe place for young people to get closer to the people and interests they care about.
‘We have Community Guidelines in place to protect everyone using Instagram and have zero tolerance for anyone sharing explicit images or images of child abuse.
‘All the content reported to us by Business Insider has been removed from IGTV.
We take measures to proactively monitor potential violations of our Community Guidelines and just like on the rest of Instagram, we encourage our community to report content that concerns them.
‘We have a trained team of reviewers who work 24/7 to remove anything which violates our terms.’
Speaking to BI, the firm also said they ‘apologise to anyone who may have seen’ the videos.
IGTV is completely built for mobile devices, allowing users to view all the latest videos from content creators they already follow on Instagram. Users will also be able to discover IGTV content within the Explore tab on Instagram
IGTV, unveiled at a press event in New York in June, lets users upload clips that can range from 15 seconds to 60 minutes in length, up from its previous 60 second limit.
Popular videos from Instagram stars and celebrities, including Kim Kardashian West, Selena Gomez, Fortnite streamer Ninja and Lele Pons, will be featured prominently in IGTV.
IGTV can be found inside Instagram’s Explore tab or as a standalone app for iOS and Android devices.
The move came as Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said that it hit one billion users on its platform.
‘It started with square photos and videos. Those were the good old days, right guys,’ Mr Systrom said at the time.
‘Since then video has exploded, we’ve continued to build video experiences, and in 2016 we launched stories, which brings us to IGTV.’
Instagram already allowed users to stream live video for up to an hour, but IGTV is be focused around pre-recorded video uploaded from users similar to YouTube creators.
Videos are be full-screen, vertically orientated, and can have a resolution up to 4K.
‘Just like turning on the TV, IGTV starts playing as soon as you open the app,’ Instagram said in a statement at the time.
‘You don’t have to search to start watching content from people you already follow on Instagram and others you might like based on your interests.’
You can also like, comment and send videos to friends via Direct messaging.
The app has a Continue Watching tab, which retains users’ progress through clips they didn’t manage to finish in a single sitting.
Creators can link to their Instagram profiles, outside websites or online stores in clips uploaded to IGTV.