Mark Zuckerberg orders removal of tampons from men's bathrooms at Meta: Report

Facilities managers across Meta's Silicon Valley, Texas, and New York offices were instructed to remove tampons, which had been provided for non-binary and transgender employees who might require them, reports the New York Times.

In Short

• Meta removes tampons from men's bathrooms amid overhaul
• Company scraps DEI programmes and LGBTQ themes
• Internal discord arises over policy changes

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made sweeping changes to the company’s policies in recent days. Among the reported shifts was the removal of tampons from men’s bathrooms in the tech titan’s offices, according to The New York Times (NYT).

Facilities managers across Meta’s Silicon Valley, Texas, and New York offices were instructed to remove tampons and sanitary pads, which had been provided for non-binary and transgender employees who might require them, two employees told NYT.

The move is seen as part of a broader effort by Meta to reshape its internal and external policies to align with the new political regime's values, a process described in the NYT article ‘Mark Zuckerberg’s sprint to remake Meta for the Trump era’.

Earlier this week, Zuckerberg announced the company would end its fact-checking practices and lift restrictions on speech across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, to "restore free expression".

"Our content moderation practices have gone too far," Zuckerberg admitted.

By Friday, Meta had ended major diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes and removed transgender and non-binary themes from its Messenger app, according to employees.

The policy overhaul also loosened rules to allow posts containing statements of hatred against certain races, religions, or sexual orientations, as well as claims about mental illness based on gender or sexual orientation.

According to the NYT report, the changes have sparked internal discord. On Workplace, Meta’s internal communication platform, employees in the @Pride group, which supports LGBTQ+ issues, voiced concerns. At least one employee announced their resignation, and others indicated plans to leave.

Alex Schultz, Meta’s chief marketing officer, reportedly defended the moves in a post to the @Pride group, saying that issues like transgender rights had become politicised.

Looser restrictions on speech in Meta’s apps would allow societal debate, Schultz wrote, citing Roe v Wade, the landmark abortion rights law overturned by the US Supreme Court, as an example of issues being politicised instead of fostering public discourse.

In an interview with popular podcast host Joe Rogan, Zuckerberg denied that the changes were made to appease the incoming Trump administration but admitted that the election influenced his thinking.

"We got to this point where there were these things that you couldn’t say that were just mainstream discourse," the Meta boss said.

The changes have been met with approval from President-elect Donald Trump and conservatives, censure from President Joe Biden, and concerns from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups about increased harassment online and offline.