No more eggplants, peaches, or water droplets. Social media giant Facebook, which also owns Instagram, has banned the use of the three emojis, citing its crackdown on online sexual solicitation. Facebook has released a revamped set of guidelines in Section 16 of its Community Standards, which states that users may no longer use emojis or emoji strings in a way that expresses suggestive elements. Users may also no longer post nudes with emojis covering private parts.
Sexualized slang, mentioning or depicting sexual activity (such as sex positions, act or intercourse, state of arousal, etc.), and sexually explicit language are also banned.
Facebook is known to be stringent when it comes to policing content on its platform. At the top of the list of things that easily get flagged are posts with sexually suggestive content. According to the platform's policies, the following are just some of the things that are not allowed on Facebook:
- Nudity
- Sexually suggestive content
- Hate speech
- Credible threats or direct attacks on individuals or groups
- Content that contains self-harm
- Content that contains excessive violence
- Fake or impostor profiles
- Spam
Posting any of the things mentioned above can get your account banned for a period of time. Another way to get a temporary ban is by sending friend requests to many people you don't know. (This limits stalking and creating dummy accounts).
On the positive side, a few things that Facebook allows on its site are the following:
1. Photos of mothers breastfeeding. Facebook agrees that breastfeeding is natural and beautiful, and it's important for mothers to share their experience with others on the site.
2. Post-mastectomy photos. Facebook believes that undergoing a mastectomy is life-changing, and sharing photos can help raise awareness about breast cancer.
If you have friends whose Facebook account were recently banned, check whether they violated any of the guidelines.
