{
  "id": "R-0570",
  "title": "Abortion content moderation censorship, Meta (Facebook/Instagram/Threads), United States, 2025",
  "short_title": "Meta's automated moderation removes lawful abortion information",
  "jurisdiction": {
    "country": "United States",
    "region": null,
    "level": "national"
  },
  "domain": "content_moderation",
  "system_type": "ml_classifier",
  "system_name": "Meta content moderation system",
  "deployed_by": "Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Threads)",
  "year_start": 2025,
  "year_end": null,
  "harm_type": "mixed",
  "subject_count_estimate": 100,
  "subject_identification": "anonymous_collective",
  "oversight_trigger": "ngo_report",
  "oversight_date": "2025-09-15",
  "remedy_status": "ongoing",
  "documentation_status": "verified",
  "summary_50w": "Meta's automated content moderation repeatedly removed abortion-related posts that did not break its own rules, including factual information about medication abortion. EFF's Stop Censoring Abortion campaign documented nearly 100 such removals in 2025, and accounts of clinics and researchers were suspended, with appeals often unanswered.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "Our Stop Censoring Abortion Campaign Uncovers a Social Media Censorship Crisis",
      "url": "https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/09/our-stop-censoring-abortion-campaign-uncovers-social-media-censorship-crisis",
      "publisher": "Electronic Frontier Foundation",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-04-15",
      "is_primary": false,
      "notes": "Originating report"
    },
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "Abortion advocates raise alarm about social platforms removing posts in apparent overreach | AP News",
      "url": "https://apnews.com/article/social-media-abortion-censorship-eff-a71965f86b40912db10fad6d26bcdd95",
      "publisher": "AP News",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-04-16",
      "is_primary": false
    },
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "When Knowing Someone at Meta Is the Only Way to Break Out of “Content Jail”",
      "url": "https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/09/when-knowing-someone-meta-only-way-break-out-content-jail",
      "publisher": "Electronic Frontier Foundation",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-10-10",
      "is_primary": false
    },
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "Meta’s censoring of abortion information is nothing new | The Verge",
      "url": "https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/24/24350967/metas-instagram-facebook-abortion-access-information-blocking-banning",
      "publisher": "The Verge",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-10-10",
      "is_primary": false
    },
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "The New York Times — Abortion groups tech platforms (2024-06-11)",
      "url": "https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/11/business/abortion-groups-tech-platforms.html",
      "publisher": "The New York Times",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-10-10",
      "is_primary": false
    },
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "The New York Times — Instagram facebook abortion pill providers (2025-01-23)",
      "url": "https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/technology/instagram-facebook-abortion-pill-providers.html",
      "publisher": "The New York Times",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-10-10",
      "is_primary": false
    },
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "Defending Access to Abortion Information Online: 2025 in Review",
      "url": "https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/12/defending-access-abortion-information-online-2025-review",
      "publisher": "Electronic Frontier Foundation",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-10-10",
      "is_primary": false
    },
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "Platforms Have Failed Us on Abortion Content. Here's How They Can Fix It.",
      "url": "https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/09/our-call-platforms-do-better-moderating-abortion-related-speech",
      "publisher": "Electronic Frontier Foundation",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-10-10",
      "is_primary": false
    },
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "Stop Censoring Abortion: The Fight for Reproductive Rights in the Digital Age",
      "url": "https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/02/stop-censoring-abortion-fight-reproductive-rights-digital-age",
      "publisher": "Electronic Frontier Foundation",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-10-10",
      "is_primary": false
    },
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "#StopCensoringAbortion: What We Learned and Where We Go From Here",
      "url": "https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/10/stopcensoringabortion-what-we-learned-and-where-we-go-here",
      "publisher": "Electronic Frontier Foundation",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-10-10",
      "is_primary": false
    },
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "The Abortion Hotline Meta Wants to Go Dark",
      "url": "https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/09/silencing-abortion-providers-meta",
      "publisher": "Electronic Frontier Foundation",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-10-10",
      "is_primary": false
    },
    {
      "type": "other",
      "title": "Meta is Removing Abortion Advocates' Accounts Without Warning",
      "url": "https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/09/meta-removing-abortion-advocates-accounts-without-warning",
      "publisher": "Electronic Frontier Foundation",
      "date": null,
      "access_date": "2026-10-10",
      "is_primary": false
    }
  ],
  "tags": [
    "content_moderation",
    "abortion_censorship",
    "automated_takedown",
    "reproductive_rights",
    "platform_policy_enforcement",
    "meta_facebook",
    "overremoval",
    "health_information",
    "free_speech"
  ],
  "extraction_metadata": {
    "first_collected": "2026-04-15T17:03:57.455911+00:00",
    "last_verified": "2026-10-10T15:46:29.971673+00:00",
    "verified_by": "human_review"
  }
}