Meta Faces Criticism for Removal of Abortion Pill Posts

On the same day that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, users on Instagram and Facebook began to post information about abortion pills but quickly found that many posts providing information about access to abortion pills were removed from the platforms. A reporter’s Facebook post “abortion pills can be mailed" was immediately flagged and temporarily removed while similar posts about painkillers, guns, and marijuana were not flagged or removed. Meta has responded that “content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, gift, request or donate pharmaceuticals is not allowed. Content that discusses the affordability and accessibility of prescription medication is allowed. We've discovered some instances of incorrect enforcement and are correcting these.” The incorrect and inconsistent enforcement policies led major news outlets to criticize the company’s missteps.