Censorship Revealed: The Impact of Digital Suppression and Censorship of Women’s Health

This white paper, published jointly by CensHERship and The Case For Her this summer, outlines the alarming scale of digital censorship to which women’s health content is being subjected on major social networks and other very large online platforms, or VLOPs. Grounded in survey data, case studies, and complaints under the EU Digital Services Act, the report documents systematic removal, restriction, or down-ranking of “medically accurate, non-sexual content about menstruation, menopause, fertility, postpartum care, and sexual wellbeing.” Such posts routinely receive the labels of “adult content,” “inappropriate nudity,” or “sexual solicitation.” 95% of women’s health content creators surveyed reported they had experienced censorship; more than 50% of respondents said they self-censored to avoid content takedowns.