On September 16, 2024, TikTok banned the account of Students for Life of America (SFLA), a prominent pro-life group, in what the organization described as an act of censorship. The ban occurred just hours after TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, appeared in a federal appeals court, attempting to overturn a U.S. law that could potentially lead to the app being banned nationwide.
SFLA announced the ban late that evening, revealing that their TikTok page, which had nearly 94,000 followers as of August, was abruptly removed. When attempting to access the page, users were met with a message stating, "Couldn't find this account." SFLA attributes the removal to a post by their social media staffer, Lydia Taylor Davis, who had contacted a late-term abortion clinic that confirmed it performed third-trimester abortions. According to SFLA, TikTok cited a violation of its "community guidelines" as the reason for the ban.
If this doctor was pro-choice and the woman didn’t want this baby, he could have left the baby on the table to die.
That’s the difference between a GOOD doctor and a pro-choice doctor in pro-abortion states. pic.twitter.com/p47VPbQ9Az
— Samantha D. (@Prolife_Sam) September 13, 2024
This is not the first time the pro-life group has faced censorship on major social media platforms. Earlier, Instagram had hidden one of SFLA’s posts in which an abortion clinic allegedly confirmed over the phone that it would perform an abortion on a fetus with Down syndrome at 34 weeks. Both instances have drawn attention to the growing concerns among conservative groups about perceived censorship from platforms like TikTok, which have repeatedly faced accusations of bias against right-leaning organizations.
TikTok's actions against SFLA came on the same day that ByteDance was pleading its case in court to avoid a broader ban of the app in the United States. The platform, which has over 150 million American users, has been under intense scrutiny due to its ties to China, raising national security concerns. Lawmakers fear the Chinese Communist Party could potentially access U.S. user data through ByteDance. TikTok, however, denies these allegations and argues that it operates independently of the Chinese government.
They may have changed the name, but the sacrifice is still the same. 💔🙏 #ProLife #ProtectTheUnborn pic.twitter.com/YQQ8MAZzbj
— 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 † (@BillArnoldTeach) September 19, 2024
The legal battle surrounding TikTok has intensified, with Montana becoming the first state to attempt a ban on the platform earlier in 2023. That law was blocked by a federal judge in December 2023, citing that it violated the First Amendment rights of both TikTok users and the company itself. The ruling has set the stage for a nationwide legal showdown over the future of TikTok in the U.S.
For its part, TikTok has remained silent on the specific reasons behind SFLA's ban and did not respond to media inquiries about the incident.
The pro-life group has called on its followers to report the situation to TikTok in an effort to reinstate the account, but as of now, the page remains offline. The group argues that this is yet another instance of pro-life voices being silenced by tech giants, especially during critical political debates over abortion rights in the U.S.
Democratic leaders, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have continued to defend the legality of abortion in later stages of pregnancy, pointing out that some states allow the procedure after viability to protect the health of the mother. The debate has polarized the nation further, with GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and other conservative voices challenging the broad interpretations of abortion laws. A Washington Examiner fact-check confirmed that abortion is permitted after viability in 11 states under certain conditions, while seven states have no gestational limits.
