Does Instagram Censor Bongs and Glass Art Businesses? An Artist’s Guide

When it comes to a platform like Instagram, there are no explicit bans against bongs or glass art. However, Instagram can heavily restrict the visibility or outright delete content that violates their terms and service. Luckily, there are grey areas regarding Instagram policies that give glass enthusiasts to share and see high-quality glass art – but things are more stringent regarding branded content, and the sale and promotion of bongs and glass art. Much of what is banned or restricted is up to algorithmic detection, leading to some frustrating inconsistencies in the allowed publication of glass related content.

Official rules on drug-related content goes as follows: “To encourage safety and deter potentially harmful activities, we prohibit attempts by individuals, manufacturers, and retailers to purchase, sell, raffle, gift, transfer or trade certain goods and services on our platform” (source). 

Unfortunately, bongs and glass art fall under this policy. So, for an artist trying to sell their work, you’d be out of a potential customers feed and out of luck. Despite this policy, the restriction of Meta policy violating content exists on a scale. For instance, branded content, or content that a creator or publisher has posted in exchange for some form of payment, faces much stricter restrictions. Certain goods and services such as: “Tobacco products, vaporizers, electronic cigarettes, or any products that simulate smoking … drugs and drug-related products, including illegal or recreational drugs” (source). On the other hand, glass related content that is not flagged as attached to a business or as branded promotional content can often slip through moderation and stay up on Instagram.

Glass artists and head shops typically get flagged because of the generalization of Instagram’s drug and drug related policies. Despite forty of the forty U.S. states have legalized cannabis for medical use, and twenty-four states for recreational use, Instagram defaults to sweeping content restrictions to avoid any legal brouhahas on their end that could come from the appearance of allowing “drug” related content. As a result, even fully legal businesses and artists are hindered by content restrictions and bans. So, when content moderating algorithms detect the presence of “drug” related content in the shape of functional glass, related hashtags, or prompts for shopping glass – they are flagged and removed for violating the terms of service.

Artists can get around these harsh penalties with a little know how and some finesse. All it takes is a shift in content presentation, specifically highlighting the artistic quality of functional glass pieces to keep Instagram’s algorithmic watchdogs off your back.

Sometimes, even when you take all the right steps to follow the Instagram TOS, you’ll find yourself staring down the dreaded notification of content removal from your account. It’s here you’ll see what your apparent transgression is according to the community guidelines and have to decide how to proceed.

Glass retailers really get the short end of the stick when it comes to product promotion on Instagram. If they stray from the carefully performed dance it takes to avoid content flagging, they’ll wind up losing visibility, losing attention, and losing money. That’s why it takes a little bit or planning and compliance within Insta’s strict community guidelines to maintain a post schedule that helps their brand or business grow sustainably on Instagram. This little content dance involves declaring clear distinctions of pieces as artistic content or transactional content, take sales related activity off-site, and stay up to date with any changes in policies as they are updated.

It can be quite the headache juggling Instagram’s policy guidelines and your own desire to share glass art and bongs. With how effective Instagram is at sharing and discovering content, it seems like it’s worth it to just bite the bullet and keep on the balancing act. However, if you need to diversify your business’ traffic, or simply want to avoid relying on Instagram for sales, then moving forward to a industry-friendly platform built specifically for glass artists and collectors is a great choice. One such platform like Giggle Glass, caters to the market of glass enthusiasts as both buyers and sellers – giving exposure to the most talented artists and their work. It’s there you’ll find a level of marketing freedom that Instagram wouldn’t allow.