Facebook-Meta bans workers from talking about 'divisive' topic of abortion

Facebook owner Meta has told staff not to talk about abortion on internal communication boards over fears of becoming a "hostile work environment". Photo / Supplied

Facebook owner Meta has told staff they are banned from talking about abortion on the company's internal discussion boards over fears of becoming a "hostile work environment".

Employees of Meta, which also owns Instagram, are not permitted to post about abortion on the company's Workplace tool, a Facebook-style website intended for internal communications.

Janele Gale, human resources vice-president, told staff that abortion was "the most divisive and reported topic" on Workplace, according to tech website The Verge.

Gale reportedly said "even if people are respectful, and they're attempting to be respectful about their view on abortion, it can still leave people feeling like they're being targeted based on their gender or religion".

The site reported other internal Facebook directives from early May suggesting abortion could only be discussed in groups of no more than five people.

Abortion has regained political prominence in the United States after leaks earlier this month suggested the Supreme Court is poised to overturn a legal precedent preventing states from banning abortion. A decision is due at the end of June or the beginning of July. The landmark 1973 ruling Roe v Wade legalised abortion in the US.

Meta has been asked for comment.

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook vice-president, described the Roe v Wade leak as potentially "taking away one of our most fundamental rights".

"Every woman, no matter where she lives, must be free to choose whether and when she becomes a mother," added Sandberg.

Abortion-rights supporters chant their objections at the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort, as Kentucky lawmakers debate overriding the governor's veto of an abortion. Photo / AP

The Supreme Court leaks have also triggered fears that mobile phone location data - which is harvested by a number of data brokers in the US - could be used to target women who are seeking abortions.

More than a dozen US senators, led by Democrat Elizabeth Warren, have written to two of America's biggest data brokers demanding assurances they would stop publishing maps showing how often abortion clinics are visited, NBC News reported this week.

"Your company's sale of such data - to virtually anyone with a credit card - poses serious dangers for all women seeking access to abortion services," the senators wrote to SafeGraph and Placer.ai.