Instagram Now Censoring SFW Images From '90s Erotic Dramas

Instagram Now Censoring SFW Images From '90s Erotic Dramas

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Instagram this week censored several posts promoting the acclaimed film history podcast “You Must Remember This,” including SFW images from ’90s erotic drama “Indecent Proposal,” starring Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson and Robert Redford.

The podcast’s most recent season, “Erotic ’90s,” focuses on mainstream Hollywood productions of that decade that highlighted sexuality in their plots, images and marketing.

Hosted by film historian, critic and podcaster Karina Longworth, “You Must Remember This” is known for offering nuanced, thought-provoking takes on overlooked aspects of film history.

On Monday, the podcast’s Instagram account posted the following announcement:

“We have been forced to take down some images and videos to comply with Instagram’s ‘recommendation guidelines’ regarding nudity and sexual activity. All of these posts featured promotional images for and/or discussion of major releases by mainstream studios and publishers from the ’90s.

“We are often asked if we think Hollywood will ever again make movies geared toward a mature audience, as they did more frequently in the ’80s and ’90s. Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but everything is connected. What incentive would major corporations have to make and release movies involving sex if they knew they — and their viewers — would be handcuffed in terms of how they could promote and discuss these movies on social media?”

Longworth’s team shared with XBIZ screen captures of Instagram’s messages censoring posts that repurposed short TikTok videos where Longworth, shot in black and white, promotes episodes about “Indecent Proposal,” “Showgirls” and Madonna’s movie career around the time of her “Sex” art photo book.

In the videos, Longworth speaks below short montages of SFW images from those films and the book.

Instagram removed the content and penalized the account with a standard “Your account can’t be shown to non-followers” warning.

By way of explanation, Instagram only offered the following generic message:

Our Recommendations Guidelines help to promote content that fosters a safe community on Instagram.

We try not to recommend content that may be sexually suggestive.

This includes:

- Digitally created content that displays nudity

- All accompanying text or imagery associated with sexual activity or nudity, including hashtags, terms and bio information.

According to Instagram, the small photo montages acocmpanying Longworth’s entirely nonsalacious analysis of the material were in violation of one of the five categories of content that the platform allows, but considers ineligible for recommendations:

“Content that may be sexually explicit or suggestive, such as pictures of people in see-through clothing. (We remove content that contains adult nudity or sexual activity.) We use technology to try to avoid showing sexually explicit or suggestive content to people under 16 years old.”

As XBIZ reported, in January, Meta’s own Oversight Board — a panel of experts selected by the company to deliberate on content decisions —recommended that the company clarify arbitrary and vague definitions concerning nudity, sexual activity and sexual solicitation.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

FSC Publishes Analysis of Federal Trade Commission Event Promoting AV

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has published an analysis of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) event held this week that promoted age verification among other forms of speech regulation.

GirlsDoPorn Owner Michael Pratt Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking

Michael Pratt, former owner of the rogue website GirlsDoPorn, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on Thursday to sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking charges, according to a report by City News Service.

Master Nico Relaunches Site Through YourPaysitePartner

Master Nico has relaunched his official website through YourPaysitePartner (YPP).

Federal Judge Grants Partial Halt of Florida AV Law

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division, has granted a preliminary injunction against HB 3, the state's age verification law, as a lawsuit filed by two online trade associations challenging the law makes its way through the courts.

Aylo Releases Statement on Suspending Access to Pornhub in France

Technology and media company Aylo, which operates adult sites including Pornhub, YouPorn, and Redtube, has released a public statement regarding its decision to block access to its sites in France.

Pineapple Support to Host Wellness Sessions at Bucharest Summit

Pineapple Support is hosting free group and one-on-one therapy sessions at Bucharest Summit, June 3-5.

Pornhub Blocks Access in France in Response to SREN Law

Pornhub parent company Aylo has opted to block access to its sites in France rather than comply with age verification requirements under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

ASACP Highlights Study on Parental Controls

The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) is highlighting the results of a study on the underutilization of parental controls.

Sydney Screams Launches New Site Through Grooby's Blue.xxx

Sydney Screams has launched her new membership site, SydneyScreams.xxx, through Grooby's website management company Blue.xxx.

Mistress Mystii Is LoyalFans' 'Featured Creator' for June

LoyalFans has named Mistress Mystii as its Featured Creator for June.

Show More