Facebook, Tiktok and even LinkedIn censor the content of abortion even when it is only medical information

Groups, in Latin America and the United States, denounce what they consider censorship even in places where abortion is legal. Companies like Meta claim that their policies have not changed, and experts attribute to overexploitation withdrawals at a time when social media platforms reduce content moderation expenses in favor of artificial intelligence systems that fight with context, nuances and gray areas.

But the defenders of abortion say that the moves have a scary effect even if they are later reversed, and that complex platform call systems are often difficult, even impossible.

For months, the Electronic Frontier Foundation digital group collects examples from social media users who have seen their messages related to abortion or suspended accounts.

“The goal was to better understand the extent of the problem, which affected, and with what consequences. Obviously, once we have better understood trends, we hope to draw attention to the problem, demand responsibility and increase transparency in moderation practices and, ultimately, to prevent personnel from censor this essential information, sometimes a life economy “, Jennifer Pinsof, lawyer for PERF.

The organization claims to have received nearly 100 examples of content withdrawals from abortion suppliers, plea groups and individuals on meta platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, as well as Tiktok and even Linkedin.

It is not clear if withdrawals increase or if people display more abortion, in particular abortion drugs such as mifepristone, because the Supreme Court has canceled Roe c. Wade in 2022.

“I would say that there was a wave of withdrawals shortly after the elections which were visible enough to have resulted in several reports. But again, it is not something that is very easy to measure,” said Pinsof.

Brenna Miller, a creator of Tiktok who often publishes on abortion and works in reproductive health care, said that she had made a video unpacking a pack of abortion pills from the non -profit carafem – where she talked about what was in the package and discussed the process of taking pills at home.

She posted the video in December. It was for at least a week before Tiktok removed it, saying that it violated the community standards of the platform.

“Tiktok has a call process, which I tried to follow. And that just locked me up. He said that I didn’t have the opportunity to call it,” said Miller. “So I started to send them by e-mail, trying to put in contact with a person to even obtain an explanation in the same way, how I violated the guidelines of the community with an information video. It took me months to get in touch with a person and I don’t even think that he was really a person. He sent an automated message for months.”

Finally, the video was restored in May without explanation.

“I work in public health in my 9 to 5 and we note a real deletion of information on public health and the dissemination of this information, especially in the genesic health space. And people are afraid, ”said Miller. “It is really important to bring people to medically precise information so that they are not afraid and that they can really access the health care they need.”

Tiktok generally does not prohibit information on abortion or abortion medication, but it regulates sales and marketing drugs, including abortion pills and prohibits the disinformation that could harm people.

On Facebook, the Red River Women’s Clinic in Moorhead, in Minnesota, published an article saying that it offers an abortion both surgical and medication after hearing a patient who did not know that he was offering medication. The message included a photo of Mifepristone. When the clinic tried to transform the position into an announcement, its account was suspended. The clinic says that as he does not offer remotely services, he was not trying to sell the medication. The clinic appealed the decision and won a reversal, but the account was suspended shortly after. In the end, the clinic was able to solve the problem with a connection to Meta.

“We were not trying to sell drugs. We have simply informed our subscribers of a service, a legal service that we offer. It is therefore alarming that, you know, which has been reported as not corresponding to their standards, “said the director of the clinic Tammi Kromenaker. “Having a private company like Meta, go with political winds and say, we do not agree with this, so we will report them and we will close them, is very alarming.”

Meta said her policies and application concerning the content of the abortion linked to the drugs had not changed and had not been affected by the changes announced in January, which included the end of his fact checking program.

“We allow publications and advertisements to promote health services such as abortion, as well as discussions and debates around them, as long as they follow our policies – and we give people the opportunity to appeal decisions if they think we have been mistaken,” said society in a statement.

At the end of January, the Center for Reproductive Health Research by Emory University in the Southeast, or Rise, published an Instagram publication on Miffepristone which described what it is and why it is important. In March, his account was suspended. The organization then appealed the decision, but the appeal was rejected and its account was permanently deleted. This decision was then reversed after being able to connect with someone in Meta. Once the account is restored, it has become clear that the suspension was because it was reported as trying to “buy, sell, promote or exchange illegal or limited drugs”.

“As far as I’m concerned, this is (that) with the increased use of social media, we have also seen an increased increase in disinformation and disinformation on social media platforms on many health subjects,” said Sara Redd, director of research translation in Rise and assistant professor at Emory University. “One of the main objectives thanks to our communications and through our social media is to promote information based on scientifically precise evidence on boresic health care, including abortion.”

Laura Edelson, Deputy Professor of Computer Science at the Northeastern University, said that in the end, while people like to debate platform policies and what policies should be, what matters are “experiences of sharing information and people’s information is able to obtain and they are able to see”.

“It is only a policy that is not well implemented. And that, in itself, it is not so surprising because we know that Meta has considerably reduced expenses for content moderation efforts,” said Edelson. “There are fewer people who spend time maintaining automated models. And so the content which is even vaguely close to the limit is in danger of being removed. ”