The Center for Intimacy Justice (CIJ) has released a new comprehensive report revealing that major tech platforms including Meta, Amazon, Google, and TikTok are systematically suppressing sexual and reproductive health information for women and people of diverse genders, while allowing similar content for men.
The 2025 report, which analyzed experiences of 159 non-profits, businesses, and content creators serving people in over 180 countries, is described as “the most comprehensive, publicly available investigation to date” on this issue of digital censorship.
According to the findings, organizations face significant barriers when trying to share information about topics such as menopause, menstrual health, endometriosis, and other aspects of women’s sexual and reproductive wellbeing. The report details how content moderation practices across major platforms create inequitable access to vital health information.
The research revealed substantial economic impacts on women’s health organizations due to these biased practices:
- Meta: 84% of women’s health businesses and 76% of nonprofits faced ad rejections; 63% experienced organic content removal.
- Google: 66% encountered ad rejections, and 58% faced ad restrictions or age-gating.
- Amazon: 64% reported product listing removals; 34% had account suspensions.
- TikTok: 55% reported removal of organic content; 48% faced ad rejections.
The report highlights specific examples of this disparity. For instance, Amazon offers extensive search suggestions for “erectile dysfunction” but provides none for “vaginal health” or “vaginal pain,” and has removed numerous listings for essential women’s health products. Google was found to restrict the use of relatable language in advertisements for women’s health issues, requiring clinical terms that are less commonly searched, thus hindering effective reach.
Similarly, Meta has rejected ads for essential women’s health products under the guise of preventing “Adult Products,” while simultaneously allowing overtly sexualized ads promoting men’s sexual health products.
“Our findings demand a critical examination of how algorithmic biases shape what information is accessible online, particularly regarding sexual and reproductive health for women and people of diverse genders,” said Jackie Rotman, founder and CEO of Center for Intimacy Justice. “There is a pressing need for tech platforms to implement content moderation practices that support, rather than suppress, this essential health information.”
The digital barriers identified not only limit access to crucial health resources but also stifle innovation and financial equity in women’s health entrepreneurship. Survey respondents estimated annual revenue losses ranging from $10,000 to $1 million per company on Amazon alone, with Meta’s content restrictions potentially causing up to $5 million per entity in losses annually.
This new research builds on CIJ’s previous 2022 report, which triggered significant political response, including inquiries from former U.S. Presidential candidates and questioning in a Senate hearing, underscoring societal and governmental concern regarding the equitable treatment of women’s health information online.
The maternal health company Frida supported this research to broaden awareness and push for necessary changes in digital content governance. “Frida is proud to have partnered with CIJ to spotlight the need to overhaul the way women access valuable information about their health and well-being,” said Chelsea Hirschhorn, CEO of Frida. “We’ve been on this crusade for over five years, and together with CIJ, we’re committed to evolving the existing digital platforms to ultimately empower and inform women in authentic and impactful ways.”
CIJ is calling for immediate action from these tech giants to revise their practices to foster an equitable digital environment that supports the dissemination of vital health information for women and people of diverse genders. As one anonymous respondent noted in the report, “Censorship has impacted our ability to reach a wider audience on social media, which is preventing people from receiving potentially life saving sexual health information.”
