Colombia's highest court has ruled that Meta violated a pornstar's right to freedom of expression when it deleted her Instagram account. The South American nation's Constitutional Court said on Friday that the tech firm had removed Esperanza Gómez's account 'without a clear and transparent justification' and without offering similar treatment to other, similar accounts.
The 45-year-old, whose account had more than five million followers, is one of Colombia's best-known adult content actresses. Meta argued in the case that she had violated its rules on nudity. The company, which also owns Facebook and WhatsApp, did not immediately react to the ruling.
Ms Gómez had alleged that the closure of her account had affected her ability to work and had been influenced by her pornographic work beyond the platform. She also claimed Meta had not followed due process.
In its ruling, the court said that while it recognised the social media platform's need to moderate content, this did not justify closing a pornstar's account 'without a clear and transparent justification'. It also found Meta 'applied its policies on nudity and sexual services inconsistently', with other accounts with similar content remaining active.
The court stated that social media posts are protected under Colombia's constitution and should only be limited proportionately when necessary. It ordered Meta to 'review and adjust Instagram's terms of use and privacy policy so that users are clearly aware of the mechanisms for challenging moderation decisions' and 'more precisely define' its rules on implicit sexual content.
If social media platforms use offline activities as criteria for content moderation, they must clearly state these, the court said. The court did not specify sanctions for non-compliance, nor whether Ms Gómez would receive any redress.
This isn't the first time a South American court has required a social network to change its policies. Brazil's Supreme Court recently ruled that social media companies are directly liable for illegal content, including hate speech, and must take immediate action to remove it.
The 45-year-old, whose account had more than five million followers, is one of Colombia's best-known adult content actresses. Meta argued in the case that she had violated its rules on nudity. The company, which also owns Facebook and WhatsApp, did not immediately react to the ruling.
Ms Gómez had alleged that the closure of her account had affected her ability to work and had been influenced by her pornographic work beyond the platform. She also claimed Meta had not followed due process.
In its ruling, the court said that while it recognised the social media platform's need to moderate content, this did not justify closing a pornstar's account 'without a clear and transparent justification'. It also found Meta 'applied its policies on nudity and sexual services inconsistently', with other accounts with similar content remaining active.
The court stated that social media posts are protected under Colombia's constitution and should only be limited proportionately when necessary. It ordered Meta to 'review and adjust Instagram's terms of use and privacy policy so that users are clearly aware of the mechanisms for challenging moderation decisions' and 'more precisely define' its rules on implicit sexual content.
If social media platforms use offline activities as criteria for content moderation, they must clearly state these, the court said. The court did not specify sanctions for non-compliance, nor whether Ms Gómez would receive any redress.
This isn't the first time a South American court has required a social network to change its policies. Brazil's Supreme Court recently ruled that social media companies are directly liable for illegal content, including hate speech, and must take immediate action to remove it.
