News
and Analysis
Filter by:
The Weekly Takedown: 20 June 2018
YouTube’s arbitrary enforcement of its moderation policies drew criticism from gambling vloggers, cannabis channels, and more in this week’s Weekly Takedown.
25 January 2017: The Weekly Takedown
The censorship of a Russian media outlet, pirates posting porn, and more in this week's Takedown.
The Weekly Takedown: 18 January 2017
Censorship in Thailand, a lawsuit against Microsoft, and more in this week's Takedown.
30 November 2016: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's roundup, nudity and body image on Instagram, the "fake news" controversy, and why Facebook might be building a tool to censor in China.
Onlinecensorship.org launches second report, "Censorship in Context" (PDF)
Censorship in Context: Insights from Crowdsourced Data on Social Media Censorship
Of course we should be able to use social networks to protest against puritanical views about women’s bodies. And we need to defy the idea that the only acceptable images of women are those selected to suit the male gaze, or that men (or tech firms!) can be the ones to decide whether our nipples are sexual or not.
Leigh Alexander
5 October 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Why did a cat photo result in a takedown? ...and other important questions in this week's roundup.
21 September 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Facebook's near-blanket ban on nudity remains a hot topic this week, while a new report on the company's censorship of French antiracists gives insight into the...
“Having not received a report we aren't sure which Facebook community standard we violated, though I presume the fact we are swearing, wearing latex gloves and suggestively fondling fruit may have something to do with it. I'm not here to say we didn't break any rules; indeed, I don't know if we did because I didn't get an explanation. The thing is, the rules are unreasonable, and inconsistently policed.”
Maeve Marsden
14 September 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Nudity on Facebook and Instagram feature heavily in this week's takedown.
17 May 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Formerly known as "Last Week in Online Censorship," The Weekly Takedown shares stories of social media censorship from around the world.
Censored or not? Which images failed - and passed - the Facebook test
While Facebook and Instagram make their stances on naked flesh relatively clear, where and when they enact their nipple and nudity censorship have become infamo...
...before this when content was removed from Facebook users got a notice saying it had been flagged as inappropriate or that it somehow violated terms of service, indicating that the takedown came from another user’s report. Location-based blocking of videos and content for political reasons has usually come from the government via DNS-based blocking or similar practices, never from social media companies themselves.
Marianne Diaz Hernandez
Onlinecensorship.org launches first report (PDF)
Unfriending Censorship: Insights from four months of crowdsourced data on social media censorship
March 23, 2016: Politics and patriarchy
In this week's roundup: A Turkish news site, topless women, childbirth imagery, an Indian political cartoon and more censored by Facebook.
March 15, 2016: Elective censorship
In this week's roundup: Instagram and Facebook censor mockery of Donald Trump and a German breast cancer campaign encourages breaking Facebook's nudity ban.
February 16, 2016: Facebook must face up to French censorship
Each week, we will share a roundup of notable news articles related to censorship on social networks.
Facebook's guide to being a lady
A growing number of people are pushing back on double standards in the community guidelines and terms of service for many online platforms.
What does censoring nude art say about us?
The nude, one of the oldest and most recurrent subjects in the art world, has led to the suspension of many Facebook accounts over the years.