Report: Facebook, Instagram censor some health care ads

Social media platforms Facebook and Instagram have apparently been censoring some health care and abortion-related ads “that touch on women’s health topics” the past year. An investigation by the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Stop Censoring Abortion campaign says activists, clinics and researchers said their accounts were “suspended or permanently removed for violating Meta’s policies on promoting or selling restricted goods.” The analysis cites several case studies, including one from The Red River Women’s Clinic (an abortion clinic) in South Dakota, which said an ad for abortion medication mifespristone was flagged and its account was suspended. The report calls the censorship “arbitrary,” noting that it can take weeks or even months to get a suspended account reactivated.