Instagram announced on Thursday that it is rolling out new tools to protect young people from sexual extortion on its platform. The social media giant is testing features that will automatically blur nudity in direct messages in an effort to combat sexual scams and other forms of "image abuse."

Sexual extortion, also known as sextortion, involves coercing individuals into sending explicit photos online and then threatening to release the images unless the victim pays money or engages in sexual acts. Recent high-profile cases have highlighted the devastating impact of this crime, including two Nigerian brothers who pleaded guilty to sexually extorting teen boys and young men in Michigan, leading to the tragic death of one victim, and a Virginia sheriff's deputy who sexually extorted and kidnapped a 15-year-old girl.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, Facebook's parent company, has apologized to the parents of victims of sexual extortion during a Senate hearing earlier this year. Instagram and other social media platforms have faced criticism for not doing enough to protect young people from such abuse.

To address these concerns, Instagram is introducing a nudity protection feature for direct messages, which will blur any images containing nudity and prompt users to think twice before sending sensitive photos. This feature will be automatically enabled for users under 18 and will require adult users to activate it through a notification.

Additionally, Instagram is developing technology to identify accounts that may be engaging in sexual extortion scams and is implementing measures to prevent criminals from contacting young people. This includes hiding the “message” button on a teen's profile from potential sextortion accounts and exploring ways to shield teens from these harmful interactions.

In a statement, Instagram emphasized the importance of protecting users from unwanted nudity and scammers who exploit vulnerable individuals. The platform is committed to safeguarding young people from sexual extortion and is continuously working to enhance its safety measures to create a safer online environment for all users.