Instagram hides posts containing the word “abortion”, sometimes asking users to specify their age before accessing the content. The social network says it is working to fix this “bug”.
Since the invalidation of Roe v. wade Last Friday, several information and abortion rights accounts had their posts blurred by Instagram, warning that they were “sensitive content”.
Among these contents described as “graphic or violent” are a carousel explaining how to help defend the right to abortion, the photo of a projection in the streets of New York of a sentence supporting abortion, or even a cake on which the words “pro-abortion” are inscribed with icing.
“It’s the first time it’s happened to us. And we used the same word in many other publications. Looks like someone really wants to end this conversation right now,” commented the We are Childfree page, where the carousel was posted.
Others deplore having had to enter their age to access the publications. “If people of all ages can be forced to give life, people of all ages should be able to learn about how to protect their rights,” wrote an American on Twitter, calling out Instagram.
hey @instagram , why did i have to “confirm my age” before i could view my friend’s post about protecting abortion rights? if people of any age can be forced to GIVE BIRTH, people of any age should be able to stay informed on how to protect their rights. pic.twitter.com/zhm6BKHN3M
— trash jones (@jzux) June 28, 2022
Censorship or coincidence? The Associated Press identified nearly a dozen posts mentioning the word “abortion,” which were later hidden by Instagram. All of them were informative in nature, and none of them featured explicit photos.
Moreover, this camouflage seems to concern only the United States. Wednesday morning, The duty did not face any restrictions to access the various contents from Canada.
For its part, Instagram described Tuesday as a “bug” the appearance for a few days of ““sensitivity screens” on content, when there shouldn’t be any”.
No ads for abortion pills
It wouldn’t be the first time that Meta has applied restrictions to a type of content as well as a particular geographic area.
On Monday, The Associated Press reported that Facebook and Instagram were removing posts offering abortion pills, saying they violated policies prohibiting the sale or donation of certain products, including pharmaceuticals, drugs and firearms.
Yet similar messages offering to mail a gun or marijuana have not been deleted.
With the Associated Press