Andrea SannaFacebook and Instagram at the centre of controversy for censoring LGBTQIA content
The company Meta – parent company of the two largest and most famous social networks Facebook and Instagram – is at the centre of numerous controversies for episodes of censorship of LGBTQIA content.
And there are two main episodes. The first is the removal of LGBTQIA content. The second episode is the same censorship of teenagers’ accounts.
Not only that, but in 2024, journalist Taylor Lorenz discovered that the social network Instagram had made certain hashtags inaccessible to the LGBTQIA community, such as #gay, #lesbian, #trans and #nonbinary. Terms used by the entire LGBTQIA community, but classified as “sensitive content” and hidden from teenagers.
Meta’s justifications? Technical errors, without anyone taking full responsibility for what happened. Meta, however, continued to be very evasive.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found that 64% of anti-LGBTQIA hate content on social media platforms (e.g. X, Instagram and Facebook) remains online without being reported, while a 2023 GLAAD report found that nearly 40% of LGBTQIA users have experienced harassment or threats from other users.
And as Meta announces several changes to its moderation policies, the entire international LGBTQIA community continues to call for greater oversight and accountability from big tech companies to stem the tide of homotransphobia on social media.
