In early June, 125 people protested in the nude outside the New York City headquarters of Facebook and Instagram, covering themselves with stickers of photographed male nipples in protest of the long-argued double standard that only female nipples are against the company’s policies.
The pressure campaign worked, NBC News reports. Facebook said it would organize a group of artists, educators and activists to talk about its policies. It’s a move that is mirrored in the social network’s broader re-evaluation of its content policies as well as its move to find people outside its corporate borders to help rewrite its rules.
It’s a start, but the arts community is not declaring victory just yet. “We don’t just want to talk,” said Svetlana Mintcheva, director of programs at the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), an alliance of more than 50 nonprofits. “We’d like to see some action, too.”
Ruchika Budhraja, a spokesperson for Facebook, said the company was committed to meeting with artists, the NCAC and other stakeholders. “It’s important for us to hear directly from different communities who use Facebook and Instagram,” she said.
