Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has ignited significant backlash after deleting accounts associated with adult arts organizations. This action has resulted in the loss of over 52,000 followers overnight, raising concerns about censorship and the impact on sex workers’ communities. The abrupt removal of these accounts has left many performers and advocates outraged, particularly as it affected fully compliant groups without prior warning.
Among those impacted is Sexquisite, an award-winning UK performing arts company founded in 2019 that focuses on providing creative opportunities for sex workers through theatre, cabaret, and community events. Its founder, Maedb Joy, expressed frustration, stating, “Meta deleting our account destroys six years of work building a community that exists both online and in real life.”
The crackdown resulted in the deletion of the account @sexquisite.events, which alone had 26,000 followers, alongside similar accounts for Cybertease, UK Sex Worker Pride, and the Sexquisite Podcast. This totals over 52,000 followers lost across the organization.
This incident follows a report by The Guardian, which detailed Meta’s removal or restriction of accounts belonging to more than 50 organizations globally. These include groups focused on abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights, and reproductive health, contributing to what campaigners describe as one of the “biggest waves of censorship” on Meta’s platforms in years.
Maedb Martha Dimitratou, Executive Director of Repro Uncensored, a global nonprofit monitoring these deletions, emphasized that the issue extends beyond a single account. “Around the world, queer nightlife spaces, sex worker-led projects, feminist organisations, and reproductive health providers are being restricted, shadowbanned, or permanently removed,” she said. “Meta keeps saying this is about safety, but the people being silenced are the ones providing community care, harm reduction, medical information, and safer working environments.”
April, the founder of Cybertease, stated that the organization’s presence on Instagram was crucial for providing a safer working environment for dancers who rely on their platform. “Losing our platform removes access to a safer working environment for dancers who rely on us,” she said.
The impact of the deletions is felt deeply within the arts community. Maedb noted, “Our Instagram is how we sell tickets. It’s how we find new audiences, collaborate with performers, and sustain the work we do. The nightlife industry is already struggling. Without online reach, shows become financially unstable, performers lose income, and community spaces disappear.”
Sexquisite’s posts primarily featured stage performers in costumes and included safe-for-work content, advocacy for sex worker rights, and event promotion. Despite adhering to Instagram’s guidelines, their account was permanently deleted for “not complying with community guidelines,” leaving them without a way to reach their audience or document their work.
The fallout from these deletions has forced organizations like Sexquisite to pivot to alternative methods of communication and promotion, including mailing lists, websites, and in-person events. They managed to create a new account under a different name to sustain their work, although the visibility of their artistic endeavors has been severely compromised.
Maedb highlighted the inconsistency in Meta’s enforcement policies, pointing out that while mainstream pop culture often appropriates sex worker aesthetics without repercussions, sex workers advocating for their rights face deletion. “What’s striking is the double standard,” she said. “When sex work is aestheticised by celebrities or brands, it’s acceptable. When sex workers speak for themselves, it’s punished.”
The consequences of these removals extend to the livelihoods of artists. “Instagram was how performers found work, how audiences found us, how sex workers found community and resources, and how we sold tickets,” Maedb explained. “Losing it instantly disrupted income for artists across multiple UK cities.”
Meta’s response to the backlash has been limited. A spokesperson claimed that the deletions were due to “human exploitation” policies, but many affected organizations argue that the enforcement is automated and fails to recognize the difference between exploitation and legitimate sex worker-led culture, advocacy, and art.
In light of these developments, the affected organizations continue to advocate for their visibility and the importance of their work in fostering cultural and social change. Maedb concluded by stating, “This is not about safety. It is about automated enforcement, stigma, and a refusal to distinguish between exploitation and sex worker-led culture.”
As discussions around censorship and digital visibility for marginalized communities continue, the actions of platforms like Meta will remain under scrutiny.
