US senators claim Facebook and Instagram censoring abortion information

Facebook and Instagram began removing memes and updates explaining how to get abortion pills

Democrat senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren have called on Facebook and Instagram to address reports that the platforms censored posts related to abortion services following the Supreme Court’s last month overturning of Roe v Wade.

Roe V Wade established a federal constitutional right to abortion.

As many as 26 states could outlaw abortion without the protections affirmed under Roe, with state legislatures poised to draft more restrictive laws – facing a wave of legal challenges – in the coming weeks and months.

In a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and head of Instagram Adam Mosseri, the senators wrote: “We write to express our concern about reports that Facebook and Instagram are censoring posts containing accurate information about abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson.

“As a result of the Court’s decision, it is more important than ever that social media platforms not censor truthful posts about abortion, particularly as people across the country turn to online communities to discuss and find information about reproductive rights.”

After the supreme court's decision, memes and other updates explaining how women could legally obtain abortion pills in the mail exploded across social platforms.

Facebook and Instagram reportedly began removing some of these posts almost immediately.

“As people across the country took to the internet to discuss the Dobbs decision, both Facebook and Instagram removed posts about abortion. Reports indicate that multiple posts providing accurate information about how to legally access abortion services were removed, often within minutes after the information was posted,” the senators said in their letter.

“Accordingly, we write to ask for additional information about what Meta is doing to address problems applying company policies.”

The senators have asked Meta to respond with information relating to what measures, both automated and manual, are employed on Facebook and Instagram to flag abortion-related posts.

They have also sought information on how many such posts have been removed and blocked since 24 June and what the platform plans to do to ensure that posts about abortion that do not violate Meta’s policies are not removed in error.

The senators have asked Meta to write back with information about what the platform is doing by 15 July.

Roe v Wade guaranteed a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, but Justice Samuel Alito and the other members of the court gave states power to legislate abortions at a state level.

Previously, women had total autonomy to terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester, and allowed some state influence over abortions in the second and third trimesters.

Following demands from abortion rights advocates and members of Congress to bolster federal protections for abortion care, US president Joe Biden signed an executive order last week directing federal agencies to protect access to abortion.

The president cannot unilaterally restore Roe. The US Senate failed to pass a measure that would codify those protections into law. Mr Biden has called on Americans to vote for officials who support abortion rights in elections this fall in the hopes of reviving the bill.