Meta’s Instagram has been blocking LGBTQ-related hashtags for several months now, according to a report by User Mag. This was done in accordance with the company’s policy on “sensitive content” as an attempt to limit “sexual content.” Among the blocked hashtags were #lesbian, #gay, #bisexualpride, #transwomen, and dozens of others.
These terms were hidden from both search and detection for all users who had the Sensitive Content Filter enabled. For teenage users, this filter is enabled by default. When teenagers tried to search for these terms, they were taken to a blank page and prompted by Meta to reconsider the company’s “sensitive content” restrictions that hide “sexually explicit” posts.
A report by user Mag forced Meta to reverse course on these restrictions, which had been in place for several months. The company called it a simple mistake and stated that “it’s important to us that all communities feel safe and welcome on Meta’s apps, and we do not consider LGBTQ+ terms to be sensitive under our policies.”
The restrictions come after the company began hiding topics from teens as part of a larger “youth and well-being” privacy update. This was publicized as an effort to protect children from content promoting self-harm. It is worth noting that heterosexual content, even that which showed couples engaged in romantic relationships, was not restricted in any way, according to User Mag.
“A responsible and inclusive company would not create an algorithm that categorizes some LGBTQ hashtags as ‘sensitive content,’ defaulting to hiding useful and age-appropriate content from young people,” said a GLAAD spokesperson. LGBTQ creators have long suffered from Instagram’s content policies, often facing shadow bans and labeling their content as “not recommended.”
While Meta claims that this was all a big misunderstanding and promises to look into the situation, this is just one example of how the company is throwing marginalized communities under the bus. The company recently changed its policy on “hateful content,” adding language that appears to allow people to brazenly attack gay and transgender people. The company says it can now publish “accusations of mental illness or abnormality based on gender or sexual orientation, including political and religious discourse on transgenderism and homosexuality.” It is worth noting that the word “transgender” has long been used by unscrupulous actors to intentionally misrepresent trans identity as an ideology.
This is part of a larger effort by Meta to become more like the infamous social media empire X. Meta recently got rid of its fact-checking system in favor of community guidelines and removed a reference in its hate speech policy that suggested online rhetoric could “contribute to offline violence.”
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also grown closer to Donald Trump. He has been busy pouring money into Trump’s inaugural fund, flying to Mar-a-Lago for talks, replacing longtime Meta CEO Nick Clegg with a former George W. Bush aide, and appointing UFC CEO (and Trump supporter) Dana White to the company’s board of directors.
Zuckerberg went further and explicitly stated that many of the above changes were made because of Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election, calling it a “cultural tipping point.” He also called third-party fact-checking services “too politically biased” and suggested that many European laws against hate speech promote censorship and “make it difficult to create something innovative.” Remember when he was going to fight Elon Musk? It looks like Zuckerberg has just lost out on submission to our new First Friend without even entering the ring.
