Facebook and Instagram Accounts Can Now Be Removed for Using Sexually Suggestive Emojis

Facebook is banning the inappropriate use of emojis. 

In July, Facebook updated the language section of its Community Standards policy to address acceptable sexual expressions on its social media sites. These new terms went into effect this Sept. and they prohibit pairing an emoji, such as the eggplant or peach emojis, with sexual statements. Doing so is now considered “sexual solicitation” and can be grounds for an account to be flagged or removed. It doesn’t specify which emojis but rather the policy reads that “[commonly used] sexual emojis or emoji strings” will be monitored.

These new rules also impact Instagram which is owned by Facebook. When asked by The New York Post to clarify the policy change, Instagram stated that it isn’t “taking action on simply the emojis.” The company went on to explain that nude photos where the suggestive areas are covered with emojis are now banned from the sites and other sexually related content. According to Out.com, this means that putting an OnlyFans or JustForFans link on a post and/or bio will also get the content removed.

Although the Post was able to reach Instagram, Facebook declined to issue a comment when asked about the policies by XBIZ.com. Instead, they referred the site to a statement that reads: “We often make updates to our Community Standards. We publish these changes on our Community Standards site so our community is aware.”