People have been fighting for #FreeTheNipple on Instagram and Facebook for years. Today Meta’s Oversight Board – a group of academics, lawyers and rights experts – recommended that the company update its rules regarding adult nudity to “respect international human rights standards”.
In a January 17 statement, the board recommended an overhaul of Meta Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity Community Standard, advising that the company has put forward “clear, objective and rights-respecting criteria” regarding its policies in this area, “without discrimination on the basis of sex or gender”. The decision comes later the board reviewed two positions from an account owned by a non-binary, transgender American couple.
The posts – one shared in 2021 and the other in 2022 – showed the couple topless but with their nipples covered. The subtitles featured a discussion of transgender health care and gender-affirming surgery. These posts were flagged by users and then deleted for violating “the Community Standard for Sexual Solicitation”, apparently due to a fundraising link for said operation.
instagram restored the posts after the pair appealed and after investigating, the board reversed Meta’s original decision, stating that both cases “highlight fundamental issues with Meta’s policies”.
The oversight board operates independently of Meta but is funded by the company, advising them on content moderation. In the group’s statement, he said, “The restrictions and exceptions to the rules on female nipples are extensive and confusing,” and even more so when it comes to transgender and non-binary people. Examples cited include messages about breast cancer awareness, upper surgery, childbirth, and protests.
“…the Board finds that Meta’s policies on adult nudity result in greater barriers to expression for women, trans people, and gender non-binary people on its platforms,” the post read. .
Instagram’s and Facebook’s rules have seemed more arbitrary over the years, with exceptions in some cases and less enforcement in others. Female nudity has always been more firmly censored on the platform, and continues to be so.
In 2020, Instagram changed its nudity policy after a backlash against its censorship of tall black women on the platform. After extensive campaigning by activist Nyome Nicholas-Williams, the policy change allowed breast hugs, cupping and outfits to be displayed in publications. In 2021, the Oversight Board updated the nudity policies on Facebook, allowing some nuance and allowing “health-related nudity”. It wasn’t exactly a victory but a step forward.
This new guideline could mean that banning nipples and bare breasts could soon be a thing of the past. And it’s been coming for a long time.
