![]() “So it’s critically important that we keep up these posts.”Įklund, who has been documenting instances of abortion-related content takedowns across platforms, says many organizations and creators who focus on providing accurate reproductive health information believe that even if their content isn’t outright removed, it will be “shadowbanned,” or have its reach throttled by the platform’s algorithm. “For younger users, sometimes they go to TikTok first before they even go to Google,” she says. ![]() But Jane Eklund, technology and reproductive rights fellow at Amnesty International, says that TikTok is particularly crucial for younger people, who comprise a significant proportion of the platform’s user base. Last year, WIRED reported that Meta had been removing and suppressing content telling people how to access medical abortions. TikTok is not the only platform where users have noticed content about the abortion pill being taken down. “Our Community Guidelines prohibit content including medical misinformation, hate speech, graphic content, and we will remove any content we identify that violates these policies,” Rathe told WIRED. Rathe, the TikTok spokesperson, says that TikTok has never restricted these hashtags, even after the Texas law was passed.Īnd while Shakouri and others worry that accurate reproductive health information is being removed, research from Media Matters for America, a media watchdog group, found that the platform was allowing content encouraging people to physically block access to abortion clinics to remain online. “So even before this law actually had significant teeth, they were banning the two hashtags of the two most commonly used abortion medications.” “There was no understanding that would even be enforced in Texas at the time because it was appealed up to the Supreme Court,” she says. “Given the capabilities of TikTok, it makes it a really, really important platform and channel for people who are seeking accurate information to be able to get it, especially get it really quickly when we know this is a time-sensitive issue.” “In talking with our patients, we know that nearly half of our patients first turn to either friends or family or social media when they find out they’re pregnant,” says Rebecca Davis, head of marketing at Hey Jane, a telemedicine abortion clinic. ![]() However, he did not address why advertising around abortion is not allowed, while advertising for other medical procedures is. When PlanC attempted to pay to boost the post’s reach, which included a link to the organization’s website, where pills can be purchased, Rathe said that violated TikTok’s advertising policy. TikTok spokesperson Ben Rathe told WIRED that while PlanC’s video did not violate TikTok’s community guidelines for user-generated content, the platform prohibits advertising for abortion services. Shortly after, TikTok reinstated PlanC’s account.ĭimitratou is one of many reproductive rights activists who say that they have seen TikTok systemically target content related to abortion, particularly the abortion pill, at a time when right-wing lawmakers are trying to make accurate information about the procedure harder to come by. “They are not very responsive when it comes to contacting them, if at all.” Frustrated by the platform’s silence, Dimitratou put out a call on Instagram, tagging TikTok, that was shared widely amongst the organization’s followers. “It was really hard to get it back up,” she says. After PlanC posted a TikTok video encouraging people to vote to protect reproductive rights in elections across the country, its account was suddenly banned.ĭimitratou was confused-nothing in the video seemed to violate TikTok’s community guidelines. Dimitratou is the media manager for PlanC, a nonprofit that provides information about access to the abortion pill. On November 8, 2022, the day of the US midterm elections, Martha Dimitratou noticed something alarming.
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