Oversight Board overturns Meta decisions in ‘gender identity and nudity’ cases

The Oversight Board has overturned Meta‘s original decisions to remove two Instagram posts depicting transgender and non-binary people with bare chests. It also recommends that Meta change its Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity Community Standard so that it is governed by clear criteria that respect international human rights standards. In this decision, the Oversight Board considers two cases together for the first time. Two separate pieces of content were posted by the same Instagram account, one in 2021, the other in 2022. The account is maintained by a US-based couple who identify as transgender and non-binary. Both posts feature images of the couple bare-chested with the nipples covered. The image captions discuss transgender healthcare and say that one member of the couple will soon undergo top surgery (gender-affirming surgery to create a flatter chest), which the couple are fundraising to pay for. Following a series of alerts by Meta’s automated systems and reports from users, the posts were reviewed multiple times for potential violations of various Community Standards. Meta ultimately removed both posts for violating the Sexual Solicitation Community Standard, seemingly because they contain breasts and a link to a fundraising page. The users appealed to Meta and then to the Board. After the Board accepted the cases, Meta found it had removed the posts in error and restored them. Reference Link