In a letter to Adam Mosseri, the head of the popular photo sharing website, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren expressed concern that abortion-related content is being treated differently on Meta.
Within seconds of the Supreme Court's decision, posts about abortion pills were being taken down from Facebook. The AP observed similar posts vanishing from social media. The company described the behavior as a "bug" but didn't explain further.
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
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The senators talked about the abortion posts and accounts that were taken down.
“Reports indicate that multiple posts providing accurate information about how to legally access abortion services were removed, often within minutes after the information was posted. Others reported that posts mentioning abortion were taken down or were tagged with “sensitivity screens” and warnings, including a post promoting an abortion documentary, a posting entitled “Abortion in America How You Can Help,” and a post from a healthcare worker describing how people were already being harmed by laws banning abortion. One organization dedicated to informing people in the United States about their abortion rights temporarily had its account suspended. Users reported similar issues last fall when Texas’s law banning abortions after six weeks went into effect.”
Meta Policy Communications Director Andy Stone said that the company's policies don't allow transactions of prescription drugs, but didn't explain the discrepancy between the abortion pill posts and posts offering to provide other prescription drugs.
Information that could explain Meta's aggressive handling of abortion-related content is being requested.
The company hasn't been transparent about how many abortion-related posts it has removed since June 24, how many of those posts have been reinstated and what training materials about abortion the company provides to its content moderators There is a deadline of July 15.
Facebook and Instagram are removing posts offering to mail abortion pills
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