"More than 190 female leaders in the health technology sector call for unbounded censorship of bodily matters by tech titans"
In a coordinated effort to end the censorship of women's health content online, leaders of key startups, over 190 organisations, founders, health professionals, and campaigners have co-signed an open letter demanding action from social media platforms. The open letter, backed by a newly published whitepaper, calls for updates to content moderation policies to reflect medical context and gender equity.
The whitepaper, compiled over more than a year, documents evidence, survey data, and case studies from women's health brands and content creators. Key findings reveal that 95% of women's health creators have experienced censorship in the past year, with medically accurate, non-sexual content about menstruation, menopause, libido, postpartum recovery, and fertility routinely flagged, removed, or hidden under vague and biased moderation policies.
The report warns that this censorship can be economically damaging and potentially life-threatening. For example, Google Search downranked postpartum care content, causing a significant drop in organic search traffic for related websites. TikTok suppressed educational videos on endometriosis symptoms without providing a clear reason, while menopause relief product posts were taken down on LinkedIn for allegedly violating "adult content" policies.
Clio Wood and Anna O'Sullivan, co-founders of CensHERship, stated, "It's time to level the playing field for women's health content." They emphasise the need to stop euphemisms or censorship tactics that obscure real female health issues, advocating for open and honest discussion online.
Formal complaints have been filed under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) by CensHERship and The Case For Her, documenting biased moderation, lack of transparency, and failures to provide effective appeal mechanisms. Despite clear evidence and growing public concern, no meaningful response or action has been taken to date.
Activists are employing concerted advocacy, legal channels, and public pressure to push platforms toward policy changes that respect and support women's health discourse online. The open letter, published by CensHERship and The Case For Her, is a powerful call for social media platforms to update their content moderation policies to better reflect medical and gender considerations.
- The open letter, published by CensHERship and The Case For Her, requests updates to content moderation policies on social media platforms to better reflect medical and gender considerations in women's health discussions.
- The whitepaper, compiled over more than a year, reveals that 95% of women's health creators have experienced censorship in the past year, with medically accurate content about various health topics, such as menstruation, menopause, and fertility, being flagged, removed, or hidden under vague and biased moderation policies.
- Activists are employing concerted advocacy, legal channels, and public pressure to push social media platforms to address biased moderation, lack of transparency, and failures to provide effective appeal mechanisms in women's health content, citing instances where this censorship can be economically damaging and potentially life-threatening.
- In the realm of technology, social media platforms, including TikTok, LinkedIn, and Google Search, have been called out for suppressing or downranking women's health content, from educational videos on endometriosis symptoms to postpartum care content, allegedly due to adult content policies or vague moderation policies.
