In recent months, Instagram has increased censorship of legitimate accounts in Spain. We no longer know the reasons very well, but the truth is that these movements are affecting even users and specialized media that do not seem to violate the platform’s rules. Our MovilZona page has been one of those affected, as has the account of the founder of the ADSLZone Group, which has been permanently suspended.
Two recent cases serve to illustrate the serious problem we have with Instagram and censorship. First of all, the MovilZona account, our portal specialized in mobile phones, has received a penalty simply for publishing a topic related to the Samsung Galaxy S24. In the notice received by those responsible for the account you can read that “followers are less likely to see this publication” without really giving a compelling reason for this. In this case, it was the analysis of a smartphone. In addition to silencing said publication, the account will not be able to publish “stories” in 24 hours as a penalty.
This has raised concerns about the lack of transparency in the moderation processes for published content. The second case is that of JaviZone, known for being the founder of ADSLZone, among other things. His account, with nearly 80,000 followers and in which he discussed current affairs and investment topics, has been banned indefinitely from the social network. In addition to not giving any reason, it is also not possible to talk to anyone to find out more details.
The trigger for the suspension was a story published in which it showed the profitability of a fund regulated by the Securities Market Commission (CNMV). According to sources consulted by META, the algorithm interprets that it is content linked to scams and a team from the United States is the one who ultimately decides to apply the definitive closure of the account.
As you can see in the story, the fund name, ISIN code and audited performance appear. Precisely what the story criticized was the number of courses that are sold through Instagram without any type of guarantee. The final result has been the closure of the author’s account. It has been of no use to appeal the suspension, META simply limits itself to saying that the content can be downloaded and that if one wants to complain they must go to court.
Social Networks: The terror factory
As we have already explained, these are not isolated cases and there are hundreds of users who express their frustration daily on other social networks (such as X) regarding the way Meta, owner of Instagram, acts. Even yesterday we were able to see a special program of Salvados on La Sexta with the title “Social Networks: The Terror Factory.” This revealed the way in which social networks manage content through shady moderation systems full of errors.
The emotional and psychological overload faced by moderators who perform the task manually on a daily basis was even reported. These have to see disturbing or violent publications, something that prevents them from doing their job well. The reality is that there are many things to review in the way of working, especially Meta. Today we will see the second part where the inaction of the company’s directors who only seek economic benefit will surely be more than evident.
