Campaigner to meet Instagram bosses after being impersonated on social media
Jamie Klingler, co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, is meeting META on Wednesday
A campaigner has said she is hoping to change Instagram's policies and close a legal "loophole" to prevent other people from being impersonated in fake social media accounts.
Jamie Klingler, co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, described how she was targeted by an unknown person who created a fake Instagram page in her name and posted explicit images of an unknown woman pretending to be her and directing people to a pornographic website, which was also fake.
Ms Klingler was alerted to the account last Tuesday evening, reported it but claimed she was unable to get it removed by Instagram until she alerted her 18,000 Twitter followers and asked them to report it.
It has since been removed, with Ms Klingler stating it was taken down in the early hours of last Wednesday morning.
Ms Klingler, who said she believed she was targeted due to her campaigning work on women's safety which began after Sarah Everard was murdered, said the Metropolitan Police has closed the investigation.
She is due to meet executives from Meta, the company which owns Instagram, on Wednesday and is hoping it will change how it deals with fraudulent accounts.
Next week she is also hoping to meet Claire Waxman, London's Victims Commissioner, to discuss victims' experiences of online harm.
While Ms Klingler was not subjected to a deep fake - where a person's face is superimposed on to another person's body and is often used in pornography - the commissioner is making enquiries with the Met on whether deep fake pornography is a legislative gap and whether this, or other issues, led to her case being closed.
Deep fake pornography was identified as a damaging practice which is still technically legal by the Commons' Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee, which looked at the draft Online Safety Bill earlier this year.
The Bill, which has not yet been submitted to Parliament, ensures internet companies provide "a duty of care" to their users.
Ahead of her meeting with Meta on Wednesday, Ms Klingler told us how she hoped it might change Instagram's policies.
She said:
"The fact that there is no applicable law for me to protect myself because it wasn't actually my body is insane.
"The fact that it wasn't malicious communications because it was broadcast and not 'DMed' is nuts.
"If the scammers or the people doing this know that those loopholes can be exploited, of course they're going to exploit them."
The campaigner told us the fake account started following members of her family.
She said:
"My Dad was OK about it but my grandmother was in tears and was like 'Are you sure you're OK? Do you need to move house?'
"I don't want them thinking I'm not safe".
Jamie also launched a Change.org petition to urge Instagram to update its policies. It has gained more than 30,000 signatures.
In Instagram's policies on impersonation, it says:
"Instagram takes safety seriously. If someone created an Instagram account pretending to be you, you can report it to us. Make sure that you provide all the requested info, including a photo of your government-issued ID."
Meta meanwhile has established a bullying prevention hub, which gives advice to people who are being bullied and harassed. It also has tools to prevent people from receiving "unwanted or abusive interactions" such as direct messaging controls, hidden words, blocking and limiting comments and messages.
A spokesperson for Meta said:
"It's against our rules to harass or impersonate people, and we're sorry to hear that Jamie was targeted in this way. The account responsible was removed from Instagram."
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said:
"On Tuesday, 8 February police received an allegation relating to impersonation and the posting of indecent images on social media.
"An assessment of the available evidence determined that there was no realistic prospect of identifying any suspects and as such, the crime was closed.
"The complainant has been made aware of the decision."
The Government has been contacted for comment.