Why Pornhub was quickly taken down on Instagram this week

Instagram permanently banned Pornhub’s account after a week-long suspension in September last year.

Meta cited repeated violations of Instagram’s community guidelines, but it seems someone clicked reinstate Pornhub and social media wants to know who and how?

Meta reinstated adult website Pornhub’s account this week, in error, only for a few hours.

This was done on Sunday only for a few hours, but the reinstatement seems to have highlighted plenty of speculation including intrigue behind the ban.

Instagram’s ban against Pornhub sparked major debate last year on where the line between policy and discrimination lay.

Where exactly is the line between unwelcome displays of nudity and artistic nude?

Instagram claimed that Pornhub on numerous occasions violated community guidelines, which prompted the removal of the account.

Instagram’s content guidelines prohibit nudity and sexual content while stating: “We know that there are times when people might want to share nude images that are artistic or creative in nature, but for a variety of reasons, we don’t allow nudity on Instagram. This includes photos, videos, and some digitally-created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks. It also includes some photos of female nipples, but photos in the context of breastfeeding, birth giving and after-birth moments, health-related situations (for example, post-mastectomy, breast cancer awareness or gender confirmation surgery) or an act of protest are allowed. Nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures is OK, too.”

Read more of Instagram’s guidelines here.

Pornhub did not take this laying down.

The account which was over 10 years old accused Instagram of opaque, discriminatory and hypocritical enforcement of its own Terms and Policies.

Calling for an explanation, Pornhub demanded to know why sex worker accounts were frequently deleted, and urged Instagram to end all discrimination toward those involved in the adult industry.

“This means providing full transparency and clear explanations for any suspended or banned accounts, ending shadow banning practices, and immediately reinstating all accounts, including Pornhub, that have not violated any of Instagram’s Terms and Policies.”

Pornhub alleges that Instagram tolerates racy pictures from celebrities like Kim Kardashian while censoring those in the porn industry.

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