Instagram is the latest tech company to promise a crackdown on hate speech following criticism that it was not doing enough to remove offensive posts from its app.

The Facebook-owned tech company, along with Google+, has pledged to remove hate speech within 24 hours of it being reported, as part of the European Commission's code of conduct on illegal hate speech.

Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Microsoft's have already committed to the code, with encouraging results, the Commission claimed.

"The Internet must be a safe place, free from illegal hate speech, free from xenophobic and racist content," said Vĕra Jourová, EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality.

"The Code of Conduct is now proving to be a valuable tool to tackle illegal content quickly and efficiently.