Is women's health content being 'shadowbanned'?
When Irene Breen got a notification in January 2025 that Instagram was removing adverts for her company's pregnancy pillows, she was confused.
When Irene Breen got a notification in January 2025 that Instagram was removing adverts for her company's pregnancy pillows, she was confused.
She was later told on a call with Meta that the problem was the word .
The restrictions were eventually lifted but, she said, it took 10 months of conversations with Instagram's parent company Meta - by which time her business had suffered a significant financial hit.
Women's health creators and charities have told us their content has been removed, had sensitivity filters added, or had its reach suppressed - a practice known as .
The campaign group CensHERship monitors claims that women's health content is being suppressed.
In a report last month, it surveyed nearly 200 creators, clinical providers, health brands, charities, and educators - 96% of whom said they had experienced restrictions in some form.
Meta, which also owns Facebook, declined to comment on specific cases, but told the BBC that while businesses can run adverts that promote wellness, sexual health and reproductive products and services, there are restrictions to avoid users across countries and cultures having a negative experience.
It's not just businesses taking out paid adverts who claim their content has been unfairly restricted.
Sensitivity filters heavily blur posts requiring users to press a button before they can see it and are usually reserved for graphic imagery - including nudity or violence.
But that can mean an content, as it is created to do, storing that information to repeat , she warns.
Dr Carolina Are, a digital criminologist at the London School of Economics who studies social media moderation of women's content, said research shows AI is often used to flag posts that might breach platform guidelines.
The system often uses automated messages, Are says, which can mean users are then unable to question a decision.
Some hashtags just don't appear on Instagram, said Athena Lamnisos, CEO of gynaecological cancer charity Eve Appeal.
"We put a post on Instagram about vulval anatomy - it was very clearly an anatomical diagram with labels around it, talking about vulval cancer and the need to check for changes, lumps and bumps.
What happened
When Irene Breen got a notification in January 2025 that Instagram was removing adverts for her company's pregnancy pillows, she was confused.
She was later told on a call with Meta that the problem was the word .
The restrictions were eventually lifted but, she said, it took 10 months of conversations with Instagram's parent company Meta - by which time her business had suffered a significant financial hit.
What changed
Women's health creators and charities have told us their content has been removed, had sensitivity filters added, or had its reach suppressed - a practice known as .
The campaign group CensHERship monitors claims that women's health content is being suppressed.
In a report last month, it surveyed nearly 200 creators, clinical providers, health brands, charities, and educators - 96% of whom said they had experienced restrictions in some form.
Who is affected
Meta, which also owns Facebook, declined to comment on specific cases, but told the BBC that while businesses can run adverts that promote wellness, sexual health and reproductive products and services, there are restrictions to avoid users across countries and cultures having a negative experience.
It's not just businesses taking out paid adverts who claim their content has been unfairly restricted.
Why it matters
Sensitivity filters heavily blur posts requiring users to press a button before they can see it and are usually reserved for graphic imagery - including nudity or violence.
But that can mean an content, as it is created to do, storing that information to repeat , she warns.
Technical details
Dr Carolina Are, a digital criminologist at the London School of Economics who studies social media moderation of women's content, said research shows AI is often used to flag posts that might breach platform guidelines.
The system often uses automated messages, Are says, which can mean users are then unable to question a decision.
Some hashtags just don't appear on Instagram, said Athena Lamnisos, CEO of gynaecological cancer charity Eve Appeal.
Response
"We put a post on Instagram about vulval anatomy - it was very clearly an anatomical diagram with labels around it, talking about vulval cancer and the need to check for changes, lumps and bumps.
Despite her raising this with Meta, the problem has continued, she said.
What security teams should do
Deirdre O'Neill, from fertility test company Hertility, said it had a similar issue with a Facebook and Instagram video featuring a woman with endometriosis.
But the video was removed by Meta, she said, and classified as political content.
Attribution
BBC News: When Irene Breen got a notification in January 2025 that Instagram was removing adverts for her company's pregnancy pillows, she was confused.
What to watch next
Watch for additional victim details, indicators of compromise and follow-on exploitation reports.