Finding it tricky to find queer posts on Instagram? There might be a reason for that…
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY SNAPPY CACTUS VIA CANVA
Meta, the company that owns both Instagram and Facebook, has come under fire after it was revealed that they had restricted LGBTQIA-related hashtags for months. The platform was shown to have blocked users, particularly teenage users, from searching for queer identity hashtags as part of its “sensitive content policy”.
The issue was first reported by Taylor Lorenz in her Substack publication User Mag on 6 January. She found that Instagram had restrictions in place for months which were applied by default to teen accounts and stopped them from seeing content tagged with search terms such as #gay, #lesbian, #trans and #nonbinary. After searching for these hashtags, they were met with information about Instagram’s content restrictions.
According to Lorenz’s report, Meta reversed these blocks only after she reached out to them for comment. “These search terms and hashtags were mistakenly restricted,” a Meta spokesperson told her. “It’s important to us that all communities feel safe and welcome on Meta apps, and we do not consider LGBTQIA terms to be sensitive under our policies.”
Though Meta also said they would investigate the “error”, no timeline has been given for this nor have there been any steps taken to prevent such mistakes in the future. Lorenz also spoke to a GLAAD spokesperson, Leanne Garfield, who called the restrictions “an alarming example of censorship that should concern everyone”.
“For many LGBTQIA people, especially youth, platforms like Instagram are crucial for self-discovery, community building, and accessing supportive information,” Garfield added. “By limiting access to LGBTQIA content, Instagram may be inadvertently contributing to the isolation and marginalisation of LGBTQIA users.”
Reports of similar issues on Instagram and apps like it are not new. Shadowbanning, where content is flagged as non-recommendable and hidden from non-followers, has long been spoken about. LGBTQIA creators were disproportionately affected by this practice, according to a report by Mashable.
Similarly, this is not the first time a platform owned by Meta has come under fire for failing to support the LGBTQIA community. Last year, a GLAAD report revealed that the company had failed to moderate harmful anti-trans content on its sites. The report pointed out that many posts, directing violent harassment towards trans and non-binary people, were clear violations of the community guidelines but had not been taken down. In fact, many of these posts still remain live, including videos uploaded by US politician Nancy Mace, in which she used transphobic slurs.
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