EXCLUSIVE: The Australian government has requested Twitter remove posts complaining that men can’t breastfeed.
The posts — by a local mum and breastfeeding advocate Jasmine Sussex — are now available overseas but not in Australia.
Critics have called it the “policing of opinions” on social media by the Australian government and say they are “disturbingly reminiscent of the censorship we see in totalitarian regimes.”
Ms Sussex, who has spent decades helping new mums breastfeed, was told her tweets earlier this month raising concerns about a biological man inducing breastfeeding “violated Australian laws” and Twitter removed them locally.
She said she was surprised the Australian government would censor debate about the topic which she believes is an “unethical medical experiment” on newborns.
Ms Sussex has now put in a Freedom of Information request to the Australian eSafety Commissioner over the suppression, saying she believes they are the government agency behind the take-down orders.
Women’s Forum Australia’s Rachael Wong said it was only a few days ago that the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls condemned intimidation or “silencing” of women who express concerns relating to sex and gender identity, saying such attempts violated freedoms of thought, belief and expression.
Source: ‘Censorship’: Breastfeeding tweets removed after government request