Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has recently shut down a striking number of accounts belonging to individuals and organizations involved in gender rights, queer rights, and abortion movements. When removing these accounts, it appears that Meta has failed to provide sufficient safeguards. It is striking that Meta often cites technical errors when removing certain, often progressive, voices. We explain what is going on and what needs to be done now.
Last week, The Guardian publishedan articleabout a study by the American organizationRepro Uncensored. The latter conducts research into social media accounts that are restricted. It was noticeable that Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has restricted a striking number of accounts related to gender and queer rights and abortion over the past two months. Accounts were and are being removed or made less visible (shadowbanned). A large proportion of these accounts were from the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. In the Netherlands, this includes the account of The Queer Agenda Amsterdam, an organization that organizes queer parties. Repro Uncensored reported that this year alone, they had identified 210 deleted accounts or severe restrictions on accounts belonging to groups involved in gender, health, and justice issues, compared to "only" 81 last year. This represents a significant increase, especially in recent months.
Instagram and Facebook are Meta platforms, on which Meta itself can determine what is and is not allowed—as long as it complies with the law. Illegal content, such as copyright infringements or content involving child sexual abuse, must be removed from the platform. But Meta can also set its own rules. For example, we know that Meta does not allow female nipples on its platforms. Female nipples are not illegal, of course, but they are prohibited on Meta. Removing people from the queer community because they are queer is discrimination and prohibited by law. Meta should not be allowed to do that. Meta itself says that there is no censorship. According to Meta, half of the organizations were in violation of Meta's guidelines, for example, regarding human exploitation or drugs. The other half of the accounts were removed due to an error on the platform and are now back online.
Read the rest of the article on the Bits of Freedom website here.
