Warren and Klobuchar Call on Facebook and Instagram to Address Censorship of Abortion-Related Posts
Senators Express Concern About Reports that Platforms Are Removing Posts About Legally Accessing Abortion Services
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) sent letters to Facebook and Instagram, calling on them to address their reported censorship of posts related to abortion services, following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade last month.
“As a result of the Court’s decision [overturning Roe v. Wade], it is more important than ever that social media platforms not censor truthful posts about abortion, particularly as people across the country turn to online communities to discuss and find information about reproductive rights,” the senators wrote.
As Americans used social media to discuss the impacts of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, both Facebook and Instagram reportedly removed numerous users’ posts about abortion services. Reports show that many posts providing information about access to legal abortion services were removed from the platforms, often minutes after they were posted, and other posts mentioning abortion were taken down or tagged with “sensitivity screens” and warnings. The senators are asking Facebook and Instagram to provide answers to a set of questions about their content-moderation policies and statistics about abortion-related posts by July 15, 2022.
As the right to abortion and basic health care is under attack by the Supreme Court and Republican extremists across the country, Senator Warren has worked to protect the right to an abortion and protect the sensitive data of all Americans.
- On July 7, 2022, Senator Warren announced two key data brokers’ commitments to permanently stop selling the location data of people seeking abortion services.
- On June 23, 2022, Senators Warren and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) introduced the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act, legislation that would crack down on false advertising that crisis pregnancy centers employ to dissuade patients from getting the reproductive care they need, including abortion care.
- On June 22, 2022, following the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Senators Warren and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) wrote an op-ed in the New York Times laying out the next steps in the fight to protect the right to an abortion.
- On June 15, 2022, Senator Warren introduced the Health and Location Data Protection Act, legislation that bans data brokers from selling some of the most sensitive data available about everyday Americans: their health and location data.
- On June 7, 2022, Senators Warren and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) led 23 of their Senate colleagues in a letter to President Biden urging him to immediately issue an executive order directing the federal government to develop a national plan to defend Americans’ fundamental reproductive rights, including their right to an abortion.
- On May 17, 2022, Senator Warren led thirteen of her Senate colleagues in letters to two data brokers demanding answers regarding their collection and sale of the cellphone-based location data of people who visit abortion clinics such as Planned Parenthood.
- On May 10, 2022, Senator Warren delivered a speech on the floor of the United States Senate on the need to protect the constitutional right to an abortion, pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, and fight back against Republican extremism.
- On May 9, 2022, Senator Warren wrote an op-ed in Marie Claire about the need to enshrine the right to an abortion in federal law.
- On May 3, 2022, when the draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked, Senator Warren spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court twice to activists, protestors, and the nation about the need to protect abortion rights.
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