Instagram and Facebook has announced that it will be banning any content that promotes conversion therapy after activists lobbied the social media giant to prohibit the practice from being advertised on its platform.Â
The decision comes as a Northern Irish ministry group had its social media posts
censored after openly promoting the practice, which involves talking therapy and various pseudo-scientific methods to try and change a person's sexual orientation and desires. The Core Issues Trust, which is headed up by activist Dr Mike Davidson and based just outside of Belfast, says it is committed to "supporting men and women with homosexual issues who voluntarily seek change in sexual preference and expression".
Announcing the ban, Tara Hopkins, Instagram's public policy director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told CNN: "We don't allow attacks against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity and are updating our policies to ban the promotion of conversion [...]
What is ConversionTherapy? Conversion therapy is the practice of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual using psychological, physical, or spiritual interventions. There is no reliable evidence that sexual orientation can be changed and medical institutions warn that
conversion therapy practices are ineffective and potentially harmful. Medical, scientific, and government organizations in the United States and United Kingdom have expressed concern over the validity, efficacy and ethics of conversion therapy. Various jurisdictions around the world have passed laws against conversion therapy.
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Conversion therapy advocates argue they respect any individuals who identify as 'gay' and do not seek change. But any person wishing to voluntarily receive support, guidance and explore changing sexual orientation should be free to do so.
Who are Facebook? Facebook, Inc. is an American online social media and social networking service company based in Menlo Park, California. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, along with fellow Harvard College students. It is considered one of the Big Four technology companies along with Amazon, Apple, and Google
Facebook held its initial public offering (IPO) in February 2012, valuing the company at $104 billion, the largest valuation to date for a newly listed public company. Facebook claimed it had more than 2.3 billion monthly active users as of December 2018. However, it faces a big problem of fake accounts. It caught 3 billion fake accounts, but the ones it misses are the real problem. Facebook is one of the world's most valuable companies.
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