Facebook Eases Stance on Breastfeeding Photos

Breastfeeding4

Facebook doesn’t have it easy when it comes to moderating content; with approximately 1.3 billion active users, it’s inevitable there will be a few mess-ups over time. But one issue Facebook has continually struggled with sorting out is the social network’s wishy-washy policy on breastfeeding photographs.

As of at least 2012, Facebook has claimed that breastfeeding photos were allowed; however, a number of incidents have occurred since then where such photos were removed for violating Facebook’s Nudity and Pornography guidelines, causing a plethora of PR troubles for the massive company.

Incidents such as these now seem to be a thing of the past though, as Facebook makes changes that show they’re listening to the outcry of Facebook pages like “FB vs. Breastfeeding.”

breastfeeding

In a recently-published update to a help page on the issue, Facebook added the following statement:

We agree that breastfeeding is natural and beautiful and we’re glad to know that it’s important for mothers to share their experiences with others on Facebook. The vast majority of these photos are compliant with our policies.

The above text might seem vague, but what it means in practical terms is that breastfeeding photographs that show the breast fully exposed, even the one the baby isn’t nursing from, are now NOT considered inappropriate and will not be removed even if reported. This fact was confirmed by feminist Soraya Chemaly (NSFW link) and Huffington Post UK (NSFW link).

So while this doesn’t read as a technical policy change on the matter, it seems Facebook really is easing up on the issue. Only time will tell whether or not this ensures further image removals and bans stop happening.

(via Engadget)


Image credits: Breastfeeding by Ozgur and Picknick by Aurimas Mikalauska.

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