Mexico City (AP) – A woman reaches out to one of the largest abortion resources in Mexico via the encrypted messaging app, WhatsApp, only to find silence.
Accounts of non-governmental organizations were abruptly blocked. Soon after, a similar digital blackout affected a group in Colombia.
The organization that assists women seeking abortion across the Americas has issued alerts in various countries and condemned what they view as a new wave of censorship on platforms owned by technological giant Meta—even in regions where abortion is decriminalized. The organization believes this is the result of a mix of policy shifts by Meta and campaigns by anti-abortion groups targeting specific content.
While this issue also arises on Instagram and Facebook, the blocking of certified WhatsApp business accounts has severely disrupted communication with individuals seeking assistance. These accounts are crucial for facilitating interactions between women and support services.
Meta usually cites content blocking as a result of policy violations, although it acknowledges occasional errors. Since January, Meta has revised its content moderation approach to rely more on user-generated reports in order to “promote more speech and decrease enforcement mistakes.” President Donald Trump indicated that this adjustment was “probably” made due to conservative concerns regarding perceived liberal bias in content moderation.
Some organizations, like the MSI Foundation (part of MSI Reproductive Choices, formerly Marie Stopes), which has operated in Mexico for 25 years, have had their WhatsApp business accounts suspended. This occurred in February, while the Colombian group Orientame, a long-standing player in women’s health, was labeled as “dangerous” by Instagram.
Conservative advocates have encouraged updates to Meta’s policies, claiming that organizations supporting women seeking abortions often face excessive enforcement, even in the U.S.
“It’s not always intentional censorship, but the outcomes lead to increased censorship for us and our partners,” said Martha Dimitratou, co-founder of Repro Uncensored, an organization monitoring digital suppression of reproductive health content.
In a follow-up comment on Thursday, Meta refrained from connecting the group’s experiences with policy changes.
“Our policies and enforcement regarding abortion medication-related content have not been recently altered, and they are not part of the content moderation changes,” Meta clarified in a statement.
“It seems deliberate.”
Araceli López-Nava, director of the organization in Latin America, mentioned that the suspension of MSI’s communication resulted in a drastic decline in user engagement. “From one day to the next, they blocked communication between our users and women seeking information in person.”
Following the suspension, their outreach fell by 80%.
López-Nava noted that MSI had previously faced challenges with regular WhatsApp numbers. Thus, organizations believe that business accounts provide a platform to efficiently manage the thousands of messages they receive each month.
This belief was shattered; after the initial suspension, MSI’s WhatsApp business account was permanently banned after two weeks, under the justification of “sending spam.”
“The argument is that they received a complaint; but who lodged it?” López-Nava questioned. She asserted they could not be accused of sending spam, especially since abortion is decriminalized at the federal level in Mexico and in most of its 32 states.
“It appears to us as a coordinated strategy,” López-Nava stated. “And it’s not entirely attributable to Meta.”
Warnings before suspension
Dimitratou, a digital strategist with Women on Web Canada and Plan C in the U.S., pointed to a worldwide rise in blocked content since Trump’s election.
Although conservative and religious factions have historically sought to engage tech companies to hinder efforts by abortion advocates, the anonymity of app reporting complicates proving the source of these complaints.
Consequently, MSI and its allies, women’s organizations worldwide, have initiated a transparent mechanism to challenge Meta’s decisions and demand adherence to international human rights standards, yet they have received no response.
A Meta spokesperson told the Associated Press that the suspension of MSI’s WhatsApp business account was warranted, asserting that organizations receiving multiple negative comments were warned prior to the stoppage. However, Meta declined to provide details on the nature of these complaints or comment on possible manipulations by anti-abortion groups aimed at destabilizing MSI.
Instagram accounts for U.S. women and Latin American women were suspended shortly after the November presidential election but were subsequently restored. Dimitratou observed that Meta similarly restricts advertising on accounts in Latin America, South Korea, and West Africa.
Uncensored has logged at least 60 instances of comparable digital censorship since January, the latest involving the Thai Tamtan Group, which accused Facebook of breaching rules concerning the sale of medications simply for sharing information on free abortion drugs available through the Thai government.
Health information vs. explicit content
A report from the California-based Intimacy Center in 2025 examined 159 nonprofits worldwide, finding that major tech platforms had removed ads and content related to abortion and other women’s sexual and reproductive health issues.
In response to the report, Meta downplayed its findings, stating they were based on a limited number of examples.
Tech companies often point to their policies against promoting explicit or inappropriate sexual content and unsafe substances, such as abortion medications, despite the World Health Organization deeming them safe.
In April, after Meta announced changes aimed at safeguarding freedom of expression, Oritame, a Colombian organization providing reproductive health services, faced a ban on an Instagram post featuring the phrase “painless abortion.” The post was removed, labeled “dangerous individuals and organizations.”
Though abortion was legalized in Colombia in 2022, Orientame has documented at least 14 posts on Instagram being censored in April 2025. Despite a brief restoration of their WhatsApp business account, concerns about potential re-blocking remain.
A Meta spokesperson this week assured that the removal of the Instagram post was an accident and not a consequence of any changes in content standards.
Innovative responses
Oriéntame’s Director María Vivas has reported ongoing battles with Google over limits on its online content. The tech giant stated it would restrict content only if it violated its policies but still includes Colombia on a list of countries with bans on abortion ads, despite its decriminalization in 2022.
Regarding Meta’s situation, Vivas pointed out that tensions began in late 2024 as the company adjusted its data management practices.
Taking legal action against tech giants proves challenging due to varying national laws. Consequently, organizations have developed creative strategies, such as maintaining multiple backup accounts and preparing alternatives to deploy when they are blocked, circumventing censorship triggers.
“It seems like Meta is our boss,” Vivas quipped about her ongoing struggle with the tech giant over what constitutes a fundamental right to disseminate health information. “We live to adapt to Meta’s whims,” she said. “It’s absurd.”
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Associated Press journalist Maria Cheng contributed to this report from New York.
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Source: apnews.com