OTTAWA, Ontario—As social media platforms continue to censor and shut down accounts, it seems no one is safe, as We-Vibe recently found out.
Earlier this week, Instagram shut down the popular @WeVibe handle, giving no warning, no description of the violation, or offering an opportunity to dispute the claim.
In an effort to draw attention to the problem and to fight back, We-Vibe officials have created an #UnmutePleasure social media campaign.
“This is bigger than We-Vibe,” said Denny Alexander, head of communications. “Instagram’s censorship and shutting of sex-positive accounts is affecting our whole community. We started this campaign to bring attention to the issue and to act as a rallying point for the industry. We’re asking retailers, educators, bloggers, and other brands to stand with us and tell Instagram that it’s time to #UnmutePleasure.”
Several sex educators, pleasure products manufacturers and more have made statements recently about Instagram censoring content, and even disabling sex- and pleasure-positive accounts. In cases where Instagram responds, officials claim the accounts or comments are a violation of their terms.
The account remains disabled, and the brand is rallying support from the industry and the broader community with its #UnmutePleasure campaign.
We-Vibe asks supporters to share the #UnmutePleasure image (found at the top of this article) on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. The image is also available in variety of formats here. Tag @Instagram and tell them why it’s important to foster sex- and pleasure-positive voices, like @WeVibe, on the platform.
We-Vibe has contacted Instagram to dispute the account closure, but Instagrm has yet to respond. We-Vibe has also posted an open letter to Instagram on their blog.
