Censorship on Meta-Platforms: The Uphill Battle Against Arbitrary Blocking

Sometimes a small word has a big impact on the internet. Like “clitoris”. Martha Dimitratou, director of the NGO Repro Uncensored, suspects this to be the trigger for one of the most recent waves of censorship on Instagram.

With Repro Uncensored, she systematically records cases of account suspension, content removal on large platforms and shadowbanning, i.e. the covert restriction of the visibility of content or accounts on a platform without the affected users being informed. Progressive voices, queer culture, women's rights organizations and accounts that educate about reproductive health are particularly affected by digital censorship.

In March 2026, it hit Bellesa, a US sex toy manufacturer, whose Instagram account has now been permanently blocked. Shortly afterwards, Repro Uncensored observed a new wave that also reached Europe: Meta temporarily blocked the accounts of the German content creators @itsleonieida with around 390,000 followers and @marieejoan with over 820,000 followers.

Dimitratou describes that this is not a coincidence, but a pattern: "What we often see are triggers like the word 'clitoris' and then waves of censorship: sometimes shorter, sometimes longer." After public pressure and objections, the accounts of @itsleonieida and @marieejoan have now been activated again.

Platforms like Instagram initially use automated moderation systems to identify content that may violate their community standards. For Dimitratou, this is precisely the crucial difference between a fault in the moderation system and structural censorship.

She believes it is possible that automated systems could erroneously block accounts. It only becomes problematic when those affected object to the blocking and the platform nevertheless confirms the decision. “Let’s just say the first lockdown is a mistake,” she says. “Where we see intent is when platforms refuse to reinstate the accounts.”

That's exactly what happened in the cases of Bellesa, @itsleonieide and @marieejoan. Everyone objected. Everyone received a message that their accounts would not be restored. According to Dimitratou, this is usually the moment when those affected turn to Repro Uncensored.

Meta states that it checks objections automatically. What is crucial for Dimitratou is that even after this test there was no recovery. At this moment, a possible technical error becomes a conscious moderation decision. Bellesa's account is still blocked today.

Another prominent case of meta-censorship: Swedish erotic director Erika Lust, a pioneer of feminist pornography, sees her content repeatedly censored. In Poland, the Facebook page of Women Help Women, which provides medical and legal information to women in a country with a near-total ban on abortion, was blocked three times in a year. The reason: an alleged violation of prescription drug guidelines.

“It’s not like everything that has to do with sexuality is blocked,” explains Dimitratou. “It very specifically targets certain marginalized groups.” In 2026 alone, Repro Uncensored says it has already documented more than 500 cases of account suspension, content removal, shadowbanning and other restrictions - more than twice as many as in the entire year of 2025.

Meta rejects the accusation of targeted discrimination against certain groups. In response to a taz request, a spokesman for the company explains that the same community standards apply to all users and organizations worldwide. The claim that moderation decisions are made based on membership in a particular group or socio-political commitment is unfounded. Users would also have the opportunity to object to blocking.

This is where the European dimension of the conflict begins. The Digital Services Act (DSA) is an EU regulation that has been in force since 2024 and is intended to regulate the power of large online platforms more closely. It is intended to protect users from illegal content and manipulation and give them more control over their feeds and algorithms.

Very large platforms with more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU - including Meta, Tiktok and

Politically, the DSA stands between two opposing accusations: Parts of the political right criticize the regulation as a censorship instrument that could encourage platforms to delete excessive content and thus restrict freedom of expression. Human rights organizations complain that the regulation has not yet held platforms sufficiently accountable.

The DSA has not yet been enough for Dimitratou either. The EU regulation gives those affected a legal basis for taking action against platforms for the first time. In practice, however, it is difficult to enforce the law, objections do not reliably lead to corrections, and platforms still have a lot of leeway in interpreting their own rules, which is why visible improvements have so far remained the exception.

Repro Uncensored and a coalition of concerned organizations from the Netherlands, including Bits of Freedom and COC Netherlands, have taken legal action against Meta, based on the DSA. It is one of the first attempts ever to use the DSA against content moderation by a major platform.

The demands are specific: no more arbitrary suspensions, transparent justifications, human review, effective complaint channels. There is a simple reason why Dimitratou and the coalition are relying on Europe. “At least there is a legal framework here,” she says. "If Europe can't do it, nobody can do it. I mean, this is the place that should be built on human rights and freedom of expression."

It's no longer just about individual blocked accounts. It's about who writes the rules of the digital public space: democratically legitimized laws or the moderation guidelines of a few US technology companies. As long as private platforms exercise this power largely without transparency and effective control, one question remains: whose internet is this?