The question whether social media platforms should censor content has never been more prominent. Various platforms are taking stands on hateful content, political ads and other forms of speech. Instagram has banned posts promoting conversion therapy, as it lays down the law on content it views as inappropriate.
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It will no longer allow posts of any kind that promotes conversion therapy, expanding on the removal of a UK-based company’s post, it mentioned to CNN. Instagram was notified of this UK-based organisation by its users, which has been widely criticised for its promotion of gay conversion therapy.
Until now posts of this kind which were promoted in ads were banned, but now organic posts will also see the chop. An Instagram spokesperson confirmed the new rules, and said that “while the company won’t be banning specific organizations, it will remove posts that break its rules and that repeat offenders could have their accounts disabled.”
“We don’t allow attacks against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity and are updating our policies to ban the promotion of conversion therapy services,” the Instagram spokesperson said in a statement. “We are always reviewing our policies and will continue to consult with experts and people with personal experiences to inform our approach.”
Conversion therapy isn’t outlawed unilaterally throughout the world, and has various levels of protestation against it. Generally speaking, the western world is firmly against it, but only 19 states in the US have outlawed it. Only Germany has actual laws against it in Europe.
With the practice being outlawed on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, the hope is that the shared content ban on conversion therapy should help shut down organizations in Africa, Europe, the US, and other regions trying to advertise or promote the practice online.
