Common Sense or Censorship?
Social platforms have struggled with what materials are and are not permissible to post. As I’m sure you’re aware, the folks at FB and Instagram (the same party in this case) have been awkward and slow to adopt formal policies. Is hate speech okay? What about looking at the human form? How much (exposed) skin is too much? In the case of the photograph above, accompanying a post about body positivity, Instagram initially said “Nope! You can’t do that.” Then, they changed course and allowed the image to reach an IG audience (and a wider public, in actuality). You can find out more about the particulars of this situation in this Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/oct/25/instagram-row-over-plus-size-model-forces-change-to-nudity-policy
One more photo here for your consideration:
I posted this photo, or one very similar, to a Facebook page in my capacity as the social media director for a publication that has as its focus the visual arts. Maybe you recognize it or have seen something similar; the photographer is not widely known, but is actually pretty notable. It’s a photo by Edward Muybridge who is widely considered the conceptual inventor of motion pictures. This is a study of the body that was used in his practice and art, which would eventually result in moving pictures. Yep, it’s a “nekkid” man and that’s about the size it was reproduced. Facebook took about 4–5 hours before pulling this post and telling me it violated its Terms of Service (TOS). Seriously???!!! Yep, that happened.
Please share your thoughtful thoughts about how or what policy (if any) should accompany posts that some might consider controversial. We all would certainly hope hate speech and disinformation about things like COVID19 would be intercepted and banned. I mean, banning hate speech and bigotry shouldn’t be controversial; it damages lives. Unfortunately a LOT of that information is getting through. What about the human body? Should social platforms censor its display? In the case of Instagram, and here I’m directly quoting, they believed the post above by Nyome violated its “boob squeeze” policy. Where does common sense enter into all of this? Do be aware that policing the billions of posts that transpire daily on social platforms is a Herculean task, but there’s got to be a better, more sensible way, right?
