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

UK Lawmaker Calls for Appointment of 'Porn Minister'

Baroness Gabrielle Bertin, the Conservative member of Parliament who recently convened a new anti-pornography task force, is calling for the appointment of a “minister for porn,” according to British news outlet The Guardian.

FSC Toasts Jeffrey Douglas for 30 Years of Service

n the very same evening when the adult industry was hit hard by the Supreme Court ruling supporting Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181, members of the Free Speech Coalition board, staff and supporters gathered to celebrate Jeffrey Douglas’ 30 years as board chair — a fitting reflection of his reputation as an eternal optimist.

TTS Opens UK Testing Location

Talent Testing Service (TTS) has opened a new U.K. location in Ware, Hertfordshire.

FSC: Age-Verification Laws Go Into Effect South Dakota, Georgia, Wyoming on July 1

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has published a statement regarding new age verification laws set to go into effect tomorrow in South Dakota, Georgia, and Wyoming.

FSC Responds to Supreme Court Decision on Texas AV Law

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has released a statement responding to last week's Supreme Court decision on FSC v. Paxton, the Texas age verification law.

Sex Work CEO Debuts Upgraded 'GPTease' AI Assistant

Sex Work CEO has introduced the new Canvas in-chat editing feature to its AI-powered, NSFW text generator, GPTease.

UPDATED: Supreme Court Rules Against Adult Industry in Pivotal Texas AV Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday issued its decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, striking a blow against the online adult industry by ruling in support of Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181.

North Carolina Passes Extreme Bill Targeting Adult Sites

The North Carolina state legislature this week ratified a bill that would impose new regulations that industry observers have warned could push adult websites and platforms to ban most adult creators and content.

Supreme Court Ruling Due Friday in FSC v. Paxton AV Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will rule on Friday in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, the adult industry trade association's challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181.

Ofcom: More Porn Providers Commit to Age Assurance Measures

A number of adult content providers operating in the U.K. have confirmed that they plan to introduce age checks in compliance with the Online Safety Act by the July 25 deadline, according to U.K. media regulator Ofcom.

Show More