Whilst lots got excited by the royal weeding more than 50 Facebook pages were shut down against their owners will.
So much for freedom of speech in this country. Do you note any right wing ones in there?
It was no doubt 'a good day to do it'.
It's a bad day for democracy as a result.
But I guess it was always going to be that, so they decided to rub it in.
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What’s the difference between Facebook deleting pages from its website and you deleting posts from yours?
The police don’t seem to be involved in my case….
What makes you say that that the police is involved here?
Facebook is an American business and subject to US law. It is unlikely that the British authorities would have much ability to force them to do anything unless obtaining a US court order.
There’s no evidence from the link that the police were involved in the Facebook closure.
Possibly even more worrying in that case – then it’s blatant political bias by Facebook
Is that acceptable for a company so influential?
So were the police involved or not? Are you now withdrawing the statement that the police were involved, and where did it come from?
We don’t know much at all from the link e.g. How many pages are deleted on a normal day? Is this a complete list of all pages deleted on that day? Were there reasons for the deletions?
I just don’t think you can draw anything from the link provided.
Nobody forces these groups to post on Facebook, in the same manner that nobody is forced to watch Fox News. The alleged is political bias is irrelevant.
Your evidence for this assertion would be most welcome.
Facebook is a privately owned American company. It is free to decide who they admit on its website and on what terms. There is absolutely no reason that Facebook’s freedom to conduct business as it pleases would be less important than these various special interest groups.
If the various entities that got kicked out of Facebook feel aggravated, they are free to set up their own Facebook. That is democracy.
Not what people say when I delete comments, I note
Richard – I remember you writing that those who have a problem with your comment/edit policy are free to set up their own blog. I fully support his position. Frankly I am surprised anybody would think otherwise.
But they must have access to the media and if Facebook are denying it then the right of Facebook to constrain free speech has to be questioned
And challenged
It’s not a private matter
It’s a public interest concern
Richard – Nothing in Facebook’s actions restrain these groups’ access to the media. They are free to start their own web page(s) or social communication site(s).
Facebook is a for-profit company. Its website is not public property but an immensely valuable piece of private virtual real estate. It has absolute freedom to use any means to protect and augment is value, as long as it complies with applicable laws. If it believes that allowing certain special groups to us the site goes against that objective, it is free to deny them access.
Your at it again Richard!
Censoring is sensoring! facebook decide not to have pages on their website, you decide to take comments off yours. No difference whatsoever!!!!
Facebook is not a public institution and neither are you. I don’t know why they removed these pages because I haven’t read them. Have you?
I have read my comments that you removed and I know you censor your web site purely based on personal and political grounds. People have a go at you and you censor them.
I happen to agree with you on most of the tax topics, but when you wonder into the realm of politics and beyond you are beyond belief.
Utter tripe!
You’re missing 2 points:
1) The deleted accounts were breaking the terms and conditions of facebook – see http://anticutsspace.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/facebook-forced-to-respond-to-our-campaign-for-restoration-of-accounts/
2) It is a private matter – Facebook is a private company and can do business or not with whoever they like. Free speech means the ability to say what you like. It does not mean the right to force anyone to listen or repeat what you say. “But they must have access to the media” – they do! Facebook is not the entire media!
Respectfully to the trolls:
Like t or not Facebook is not ‘just a private company’
80% of young people se it
Stop access and it’s like denying people a right to a phone
Private companies that offer media platforms are not the same as individual sites
And if they abuse their rights to promore right wing agendas then I strongly support regulation of their activities
This is not just anti-competitive (and anti-trust investigation now seems appropriate) this is a challenge to democracy
Now of course I know you detest democracy and want to undermine it
But some of us believe in it and defend it
It’s a shame we can’t now rely on that from the right
At what point does a private company cease to be the property of its owners but instead run by you?
And if sites that offer media platforms are a special case that should be regulated then surely you would be in trouble for your comment deletion on this site (or doesn’t it count if it’s people you disagree with?)
As has been pointed out, the profiles breached the terms & conditions. And as I understand it, (some of) the people who set up the profiles in the first place have been contacted about migrating those Facebook profiles to groups or pages. And, as far as I know, no-one has been banned from using Facebook; certain profiles which contravened the T&Cs have been removed.
FB really are a private company. It’s their site, they pay for the servers, and they can do whatever they want with them (legality allowing, of course). That’s their right, and if they want to use that to promote any agenda, then it’s upto them. Although to be perfectly frank, I see no evidence that they are promoting an agenda; and if you’re really implying that Facebook has a right-wing bias – as I think you are – then that’s just laughable.
If you really think they should be regulated (to stop the abuse you think FB have engaged in), then perhaps your blog should also be regulated, to prevent you editing out those who disagree with you. Both offer “platforms”, both exist in the public sphere; so if Facebook are obstructing free speech or challenging democracy, then it has to follow that you are too.
As I say, FB haven’t disallowed anyone from using their site; in fact they’ve made an effort to help some of those affected to use the site correctly. They’re not blocking anyone’s access, abusing their rights, challenging democracy, or anything like that; and claiming otherwise is just baseless hyperbole.
P.S. calling the people who disagree with you “trolls” really doesn’t help your case. Especially when your argument is demonstrably incorrect…
Would be interested in an answer to the point – made above & elsewhere – that the pages were in contravention of the Facebook T&Cs? Moreover for the charge of political bias to stand you’d have to provide links to other pages also in contravention of those T&Cs.
With the greatest of respect, without answers to the two points above this is a non-story….