Reproductive health professionals are urging Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to reconsider its restrictions on content related to female reproduction.
With a prominent report from the Center for Intimacy Justice early last year accusing Meta of systematically rejecting many female and gender diverse reproductive health advertisements, the company has long faced criticism for removing and restricting information about female reproductive health.
The CIJ report also charged Meta with using biased algorithms, claiming that it allowed ads referencing male sexual pleasure as well as reproductive health for men.
In an effort to allay these worries, Meta revised its “adult products or services” advertising policy last October to include more precise rules regarding reproductive health, making it clear that it permits the promotion of “reproductive health products or services” if the content is directed at “people aged 18 or older “.
The argument put forth by Meta (FB) that the subject is delicate is that, as a global corporation, it must take into account the “wide array of people from different cultures and countries” in order to “avoid potential negative experiences”.
Female reproductive experts, however, tell the media that the advertising policy is still too restrictive and that it is making it difficult for young people all over the world to access information about issues related to female reproductive health, such as the menstrual cycle, which can begin as early as 8 years of age.
They contend that content about typical and natural bodily processes should not be subjected to censorship because doing so contributes to the shame that has long plagued how people learn about the female body and hormone cycle.
That can make it harder for people who have uteruses to advocate for their bodies in medical settings, making it harder for them to get treatment for conditions like endometriosis that are poorly understood and underdiagnosed.
Source-CNN
