During an antitrust trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified regarding the company’s acquisition of Instagram. Documents and emails indicated that Instagram was viewed as a 'rapidly growing, threatening network', suggesting the acquisition was motivated by a desire to neutralize competition and consolidate market power. This testimony has raised concerns about anti-competitive practices and economic concentration.

Users reported that when searching for Democrat-related terms on Instagram, a message indicated that results were hidden. This has sparked backlash over perceived politically biased censorship, occurring amid broader changes in Meta's content moderation strategy and heightened attention during a sensitive political transition.

On January 20, 2025, during the political turbulence surrounding Trump's second inauguration, Instagram blocked search results for popular pro-Democratic hashtags while leaving pro-Republican hashtags accessible for a 9‐hour period. This selective censorship has raised concerns about biased content moderation practices that may be aimed at silencing voices of the political left.

Instagram introduced a setting that automatically limits political content by default, sparking backlash from activists—including pro-Palestinian groups—who see the move as a form of censorship that undermines political discourse during critical times.

CEP reported that on June 8, five extremist accounts on Instagram were responsible for spreading antisemitic, neo-Nazi, and violent propaganda, but by June 12 only one of these accounts had been removed by Instagram, leaving multiple extremist voices active on the platform.

CEP reported multiple extremist accounts on Instagram, including far-right and pro-ISIS groups, on May 4, 2023. Despite these reports, the accounts remained active several days later, raising concerns about Instagram's moderation practices and its commitment to preventing the spread of extremist propaganda.