Facebook and Instagram are removing posts from users offering help getting abortion pills for violating drug policies.
After the Supreme Court’s destruction of Roe v. Wade on Friday† Social media users have shared posts offering to mail abortion pills to people whose access to abortion has been removed or will soon happen.
But users find that their offers are quickly removed or restricted, as reported by Motherboard and the Associated Press† A test Facebook post from a AP reporter who offered to mail abortion pills was removed within a minute. A test by a roadside reporter produced similar results, flagging a message offering abortion pills within two minutes.
The sale, donation, and transfer of firearms and marijuana are also prohibited under the same part of Meta’s restricted goods policy that prohibits pharmaceuticals. Still test reports from the AP those who offered to mail guns and weed were not removed; a similar test by The edge offer to email cannabis was not immediately removed by Facebook.
In response to the coverage, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone tweeted on Monday that “content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, gift, solicit or donate medicines is not allowed.” Stone says posts containing information about the “affordability and accessibility of prescription drugs” are allowed and the company was correcting cases of “improper enforcement.”
Meta did not immediately respond to inquiries seeking clarification about how the policy is enforced and what might explain the differences.
In the days after the reversal of roe deer, social media has become an important tool in disseminating information about available abortion resources.
But mitigation decisions by social media companies have caused some major resource providers to lose access to their platforms as the need has become particularly acute. Abortion Finder, a site that allows patients to search for health care providers, was briefly suspended from Instagram on Sunday, with Meta citing her restricted goods policy, according to NBC News. The account has since been restored.