Facebook and Instagram declared a ban on all gay conversion therapy content on social media platforms.
The conversion therapy strives at forcefully shaping an individual’s sexual orientation. The ban is an increase of the recent change in policy that promotes conversion therapy; a spokesperson told The Verge.
Tara Hopkins, Instagram’s public policy director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in a declaration to CNN, said, “We don’t allow attacks against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity and are updating our policies to ban the promotion of conversion therapy services.”
She further stated that Instagram had excluded content from a religious group in the UK called the Core Issues Trust, which promoted conversion therapy.
“We have removed violating content from @coreissuestrusttv. We are always analyzing our policies and will continue to consult with experts and people with personal experiences to inform our strategy,” Hopkins stated.
Conversion therapy is banned or deemed illegal in at least 19 US states to preserve minors, but it endures legal at the federal level in the US.
It also practiced in many areas of Europe. Studies have revealed that gay conversion therapy guides to depression, drug use, homelessness, and suicide among young adults, many of whom are subjected to it without their consent.
Instagram has stated that the ban is applicable worldwide as part of the expansion of hate speech policies.
The content ban on conversion therapy is pointed at shutting down organizations in Africa, Europe, the US, and other regions seeking to advertise or promote the practice online. Germany is the only place where conversion therapy is banned, the report noted.
Facebook is also seeming at banning political ads in the US ahead of elections in November. The inherent being is only in the proposal stage, and nothing has been finalized as of yet, Bloomberg noted.
However, if the settlement to ban political ads does actualize, it could hurt the “get out the vote” campaigns, or limit a candidate’s ability to acknowledge widely to breaking news or new information.
As per the report, In the past 90 days, US President Donald Trump and former Vice President and presumptive democratic nominee Joe Biden have spent a combined $29.2 million on ads, according to the company’s self-reported data.
Alex Stamos, Facebook’s former top security executive, stated Friday that any political ad ban could profit Trump. Stamos, in a tweet, wrote, “Eliminating online political ads only benefits those with money, incumbency, or the capability to get media coverage. Who does that sound like?”
