'We got penalised for saying 'pregnancy' on Instagram'
Summary
Instagram and its parent company Meta restricted ads and content related to women's health topics, including posts mentioning "pregnancy" and other medical terms. These restrictions affected businesses and health organizations, leading to financial losses and reduced reach for important health information. Meta said it limits certain content to prevent negative user experiences, but many creators report unfair treatment and difficulty appealing decisions.Key Facts
- In January 2025, Instagram removed ads for pregnancy pillows because of the word "pregnancy."
- Business owner Irene Breen had to remove the word "pregnancy" from her website and product names for 10 months.
- Many women’s health creators and charities report content being removed, blurred with sensitivity filters, or shadowbanned.
- The campaign group CensHERship found 96% of nearly 200 women’s health content creators experienced some restrictions.
- Sensitivity filters blur images and require extra clicks to view, usually for nudity or violence, but are also used on health posts.
- Automated systems and AI often mistakenly flag health content, causing delays and blocking appeals.
- Some important health hashtags like #vaginalcancer do not appear properly on Instagram.
- Meta is consulting with women’s health groups to improve how it handles health-related content but declined to comment on specific cases.
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