Snapchat apologises for Juneteenth filter encouraging users to 'break chains' of slavery by smiling: 'We are all human'

Snapchat’s filter was set against a Pan-African flag and when users smiled, broken chains appeared in the background

a Snap Inc. banner covers the facade of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, as the Snapchat IPO debuts ((AFP))

An internal letter send from Snapchat’s VP of Diversity and Inclusion Oona King has revealed insight into the company’s decisions a Juneteenth filter that its users have criticised for racial insensitivity.

Snapchat’s filter, which it calls “lenses”, was set against a Pan-African flag. Users had to smile to make chains appear, which were then broken.

It comes as protests over the death of George Floyd and other Black people continue in the US and UK.

The filter was condemned as “tone-deaf” for its superficiality when it comes to racial issues. One said that it is indicative of "how their team lacks the diversity required to curb this implicit bias."

A former Snapchat employee tweeted that "this is what happens when you don’t have any black people on the product design team."

In a letter, published by The Verge, King said that the company “failed to recognise the gravity of the ‘smile’ trigger.”

“We feel it is perfectly acceptable as Black people to celebrate the end of slavery — as we do with picnics, BBQs, street parties and other forms of celebration across America — and say ‘Smile! Happy Juneteenth; we’re no longer enslaved! But we’re not yet really free either!’ However for a White person to tell a Black person: ‘Smile! You’re no longer slaves’ is offensive in the extreme," a section of the letter reads.

“I’m hoping many people will understand how the same word can be appropriate in one context, but inappropriate in another, depending on who is using it. Regardless, we should not have used smiling as a trigger to break the chains of slavery in the Lens, and we understand why that was offensive.”

In a statement to The Independent, Snapchat said that the filter had not gone through the company’s review process. It is unclear why that is.

“We deeply apologise to the members of the Snapchat community who found this lens offensive,” the company said. “A diverse group of Snap team members were involved in developing this concept, but a version of the lens that went live for Snapchatters this morning had not been approved through our review process."

King also said that it was a “mischaracterisation” to say that white Snapchat executives had failed to include black perspectives and that “regardless of our diverse backgrounds, we are all human, and humans make mistakes".

Snapchat has never released a diversity report. CEO Evan Spiegel has said that Snapchat does not want to “normalise [the] representation” that the company, like many technology companies, is dominated by white and Asian men”.

“What we want to make sure we do is not normalize that representation. It probably wouldn't surprise you Snapchat looks like most other technology companies in terms of representation,” Spiegel said. “We think that's a bad thing, not a good thing, so we’ve been worried that all these disclosures have actually normalised the current composition of the tech workforce.”

The company reportedly gives employees access to its diversity statistics, and is apparently “committed to publicly releasing our diversity numbers, along with more context and plans for meaningful action.”

This is not the only instance where Snapchat has been criticised for apparent racial insensitivity. In 2016, it released a Bob Marley-esque filter which darkened user skin and added dreadlocks.

In the same year the company also released a filter which was allegedly ‘whitewashing’ skin tones, and drew comments that the filters equated ‘beauty’ modes with white and clear skin.