In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the ban on abortion, some people are finding themselves banned from using social media.
On the same day that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of abortion rights, Facebook began removing posts that offered to send abortion pills.
Users saw their posts removed within seconds after they were moderationd on the issue. The account was suspended after a post that read "I will mail abortion pills to any one of you" Just let me know.
The key phrase for automated removal appears to be "abortion pills" as other posts with other combinations of terms didn't flag the platform's moderation systems
The AP reported that some users on the photo sharing site saw posts that offered to help others get abortion pills removed. The message about abortion pills was removed from the test post in less than one minute.
Meta Policy Communications Director Andy Stone pointed out in his reply that the company does not allow transactions of prescription drugs.
Content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, gift, request or donate pharmaceuticals is not allowed. Content that discusses the affordability and accessibility of prescription medication is allowed. We've discovered some instances of incorrect enforcement and are correcting these.
— Andy Stone (@andymstone) June 27, 2022
Stone admitted that there were some instances of incorrect enforcement of the rules. He didn't explain why posts with the phrase "abortion pills" saw swift enforcement, even though other banned content about guns, pain pills and cannabis did not.
Stone cited Meta's rules on restricted goods and services, which prohibit efforts to buy, sell or trade pharmaceuticals except in cases where legitimate healthcare e- commerce businesses offer delivery.
Some users are seeingsensitivity screens that hide posts that shouldn't be hidden. The company called the behavior a bug and said it was related to user reports about abortion-related content being removed. Posts about abortion aren't the only topic affected by the "bug."
We're hearing that people around the world are seeing our "sensitivity screens" on many different types of content when they shouldn't be. We're looking into this bug and working on a fix now https://t.co/95ebED8SRu
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) June 28, 2022
Abortion pills are poised to be a topic of extreme controversy due to the Supreme Court's decision in the case. The White House issued a fact sheet on Friday detailing the administration's plans to defend access to the FDA-approved contraceptive.
The fact sheet stated that the Biden administration would work with Health and Human Services to maximize access to the drug. The Department of Justice could become involved if the legal status of the drug is challenged.
The Attorney General said that they are ready to work with other arms of the federal government to protect and preserve reproductive care.
Tech companies respond to US Supreme Court abortion decision
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