Yesterday was one of those moments again: I'm sitting in front of my screen, supposed to place a black bar over one of my carefully composed photographs. An absurd situation that frustrates me every single time.
Don't get me wrong, I'm no revolutionary. For over ten years, I've been working with a youth protection officer, entirely voluntarily, by the way.
Responsible photography is a given for me. But what the major platforms currently define as "appropriate" has little to do with youth protection.
It becomes particularly bitter with images that live from subtlety. When I have to place a clumsy black bar over a sensitively composed photograph, it doesn't just destroy the aesthetic balance.
It changes the entire visual language. A carefully constructed visual narrative is destroyed in one fell swoop. It's like telling a pianist they can only use the white keys.
What frustrates me most: The complete arbitrariness of the system. An AI decides over artistic expression, but constantly makes mistakes. Even completely harmless, clothed photographs can suddenly be classified as "offensive". No warning in sight. Sometimes your account is simply blocked. End of announcement.
The official guidelines aren't worth the paper they're not even printed on. In practice, pure chaos reigns. While some of my thoughtful artistic works get blocked, my timeline overflows with quite revealing poses from risk-taking models.
As a photographer who works with subtle and artistic representations, I'm constantly walking on thin ice — even when I have solid ground beneath my feet.