Meta suspends dozens of Dutch LGBTQIA+ accounts for second time in six months

Instagram has suspended more than 100 LGBTQIA+ accounts worldwide in recent weeks, including an estimated 5 to 10 Dutch accounts — among them prominent queer organizations and nightclubs in Amsterdam — for the second time in six months.

The affected Dutch accounts belong to The Queer Agenda, Club Church, the Nieuwezijds gay sauna, and the club Tillatec. Some of those same accounts were also suspended in December of last year, when more than 50 organizations were blocked almost simultaneously. Several were later restored after Meta acknowledged errors in its automated moderation system.

Operators of the affected accounts say they received at most a notice that they violated Instagram’s guidelines. Some received no explanation at all. Lotje Beek of the Dutch digital-rights group Bits of Freedom said Meta is required under European Union law to provide explanations. “Also, people should be able to appeal and be able to get in touch with a human,” she said.

Micklin Korsuize, co-founder of The Queer Agenda, told NU.nl that the group had been extremely cautious since regaining access after the December suspensions. “When we were allowed back after the previous suspension, we were very careful. We haven’t posted anything anymore, but we were removed again anyway,” Korsuize said.

Caspar Pisters of Club Church started a new account after the December action and rebuilt it to 6,000 followers from a previous 19,000. “Without warning, the account was gone,” he said. “This surprises us completely.”

The Amsterdam club Tillatec lost 40,000 followers in last week's purge. Founder and director Samuel King said the platform is critical for reaching the club’s audience. “Our audience mainly consists of Gen Z and millennials. They use the platform to stay informed about events. This has a big impact on us. As a business, you have to be present on Instagram to fill your venue,” King told NU.nl. King filed an appeal, but Meta rejected it without any explanation.

The global monitoring group Repro Uncensored, which tracks social media censorship, said it received more than 100 reports of suspended accounts in a short period. In the Netherlands, the number of affected profiles is estimated at 5-10.

Repro spokesperson Martha Dimitratou said the same marginalized groups are repeatedly targeted. “It is often the same groups that are victimized and marginalized. We see a systematic restriction in what is allowed to exist online in the area of nightlife, artistic expressions, and sexuality,” Dimitratou told NU.nl.

She added that the triggers appear arbitrary. “It can be a word, a message, or an image that is picked up by AI moderation. Maybe it is anti-groups that report accounts. We don’t know exactly. But minorities are often the victims, and it causes emotional burdens and sometimes financial problems.”