We bet the people behind the soon-to-be released Facebook movie The Social Network are loving this drama! Yeah drama/free press!
We bet Mark Zuckerberg is NOT so enthusiastic about this drama.
Activists are furious with Facebook for locking down portions of cause pages, such as “Boycott Target Until They Cease Funding Anti-Gay Politics.” The page got 78,000 members, and was recently heavily locked down by Facebook personnel.
Here’s a statement about this action, by a promoter of the Target boycott, Nicholas Lefevre:
“Facebook is interfering with the function of a page dedicated to individuals organizing in response to corporate action to which they object. With the limited avenues for such expression and organization and the importance of the Internet to that ability, anything that threatens that expression is dangerous.”
Spokespeople from Facebook have claimed that pages have been locked down because they violated the site’s terms of service:
├óΓé¼┼ôFacebook Pages enable public figures, organizations, businesses, and brands to share information, interact with interested people, and maintain an engaging presence on Facebook. They’re ├óΓé¼┬ª optimized for official entities├óΓé¼Γäó needs to communicate, distribute content, engage people and capture new audiences. To protect people from spam and other unwanted content, we restrict Pages that represent ideas or positions ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ rather than discrete entities ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ from publishing stories to people’s News Feeds.”
“This policy is designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe, secure and trusted environment for the people who use it.”
Facebook’s policy on this matter is NOT being well received by lots of people. Should be inneresting to see how the backlash progresses.
What do U think of Facebook’s policy on their ability to restrict pages?
[Image via AP Images.]