Instagram "mistakenly" restricted LGBTQ+ content from teens for months

If you’re a teen and had any sort of hunch that certain topics were being blocked from your Instagram feed, you were probably onto something. In a new report for User Mag, Taylor Lorenz writes that Meta has apparently been restricting LGBTQ+ content from its search and discovery pages for months now. Hashtags like #lesbian, #bisexual, #gay, #trans, #queer, #nonbinary, #pansexual, #transwomen, #Tgirl, #Tboy, #Tgirlsarebeautiful, #bisexualpride, #lesbianpride, and more have been blocked by Instagram’s “sensitive content” filter, which has labeled them as “sexually suggestive.” On the other hand, posts featuring heterosexual couples, including tradwives and other romantically inclined content, have passed through just fine.

This restriction would have affected anyone who has the sensitive content filter turned on, as well as all teen accounts, which have the filter turned on automatically. (The setting can only be reversed by a parent or guardian.) 

When User Mag reached out to Meta about the restrictions, the company said it was an error and rolled them back. “These search terms and hashtags were mistakenly restricted,” a spokesperson told the publication. “It’s important to us that all communities feel safe and welcome on Meta apps, and we do not consider LGBTQ+ terms to be sensitive under our policies.”

Even if this was genuinely just an oversight, it’s still a troubling state of affairs under an incoming administration that seems increasingly committed to rolling back LGBTQ+ protections. (Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg notably just donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.) “Meta categorizing LGBTQ hashtags as ‘sensitive content’ is an alarming example of censorship that should concern everyone,” said Leanna Garfield, social media safety program manager at GLAAD, in a statement to User Mag. “For many LGBTQ people, especially youth, platforms like Instagram are crucial for self-discovery, community building, and accessing supportive information… By limiting access to LGBTQ content, Instagram may be inadvertently contributing to the isolation and marginalization of LGBTQ users.” 

You can read the full report at User Mag.