BARCELONA, Spain – In a statement issued Tuesday, adult filmmaker Erika Lust said Instagram has “permanently deleted” her original Instagram account “without warning or clear justification.”
“The removal on February 3, 2025, was sudden, with Instagram citing ‘violations regarding sexual solicitation’ – a vague and overused charge that has been disproportionately applied to sex educators, content creators, and wellness brands,” Lust’s representatives said in the statement. “With over 90,000 followers, the account was a hub for discussions on sexuality, pleasure and ethical adult filmmaking.”
In the statement, Lust’s reps said her team has “has long dealt with shadowbanning, post removals, and content restrictions, challenges that have grown due to Meta’s policies and algorithms which often silence minority voices.”
“We only shared soft, censored content,” Lust said. “Yet we were still targeted.”
Lust added that censorship “silences conversations that matter.”
“When platforms erase sex education and ethical storytelling, they don’t just delete accounts, they erase voices, pleasure, and progress,” she added.
The statement noted that in response to the account’s deletion, Lust’s team has “launched a new Instagram account (@erikalust), focusing on PG-rated content.” Despite the ‘PG’ nature of the new account, Lust’s team says they are “still encountering shadowbanning reflecting the ongoing challenges faced by sexual wellness educators in navigating platform restrictions.”
Lust’s reps also asserted the takedown of her account is “not an isolated incident,” rather it is “part of a larger systemic crackdown on sexual wellness and adult content creators across social media.”
“In recent years, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok have come under fire for inconsistently enforcing policies that disproportionately affect sex-positive educators and creators, while mainstream influencers and other cinema brands continue to post provocative content without consequences,” Lust’s reps added.
According to the statement, a 2024 study by the CensHERship Campaign found that “90% of organizations sharing women’s health and sexual education content online reported being censored, shadowbanned, or having their posts removed.”
“Platforms have increasingly flagged words like ‘pleasure’ and ‘sexual health’, making it nearly impossible for legitimate ethical businesses and educators to reach their audience,” the statement added.
“We’re seeing an aggressive, algorithmic silencing of conversations around sexuality and pleasure,” Lust said. “Meanwhile, corporations can market sex appeal freely. The double standard is blatant.”
Lust’s reps noted that with the deletion of the original account, Lust’s team has lost followers who were “redirected to new channels, only to face continued shadowbanning.”
“The incident raises concerns about social media’s role in erasing sex education, harming small creators, and reinforcing outdated taboos around sexuality,” Lust’s reps added. “As platforms continue to tighten restrictions, the question remains: Who gets to define what is ‘appropriate’ when it comes to conversations about sex?”
Lust’s reps said that for now, her team is “rebuilding under a stricter content approach,” adding that the “fight for fair treatment of sexual wellness creators is far from over.”
