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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Public Citizen Phone: 202-588-1000 |
Facebook Owes Users Explanation for Decision to Temporarily Remove ‘Boycott BP’ Fan Page
Statement of Greg Beck, Attorney, Public Citizen
WASHINGTON - June 29 - Late Monday, Facebook shut down the Boycott BP fan page, effectively locking out the page’s more than 700,000 members. After a backlash by users, Facebook reinstated the site this morning. Facebook has not said whether a complaint by BP prompted its decision to terminate the Boycott BP page. Regardless, Facebook’s decision to delete the page without warning or explanation was irresponsible.
Facebook and other social websites have become the public squares of the Internet - places where citizens can congregate as a community to share their opinions and voice their grievances. Facebook’s ownership of this democratic forum carries great responsibility. At the very least, Facebook should provide warning and a reasoned explanation before destroying a large and active community.
Although it is not clear whether BP is behind the page’s temporary removal, companies often complain to Facebook about fan pages that include their names. Here, nobody could be confused into believing that a page named “Boycott BP” is run by BP itself. People have a right to criticize a company by name, and BP has no right to stop it.
Note: Public Citizen’s call for a BP boycott can be found at www.BeyondBP.org.
6 Comments so far
Show AllDuh! Facebook is a tool of the system, simple as that. George Orwell is rotating in his grave.
you are absolutely right, yachtie.
Gotta love it when the strong arms of the corporations lock together to exert their power on we the sheeple.
All my friends are on Facebook, but I'm not. I don't like the idea of it. All of my friends
know that I will send them personal messages instead, and they send their personal messages back to me too.
There really is something creepy about this company, even though commondreams and all the politicians seem to be on there.
Everyone keeps saying, you have to join? Why?
Oh, I get it. Facebook is jockeying to be the only public forum left after Comcast/NBC are joined at the hip, or where ever it is that virtual people consumante their relationship.
If BP can delete a page that isn't even their own and Facebook can make friends of people who would prefer to be strangers, then what is up with this?
Maybe it should be called Falsebook, because it makes promises like a corporate suitor, and then after people are screwed, they break the engagement.
Falsebook, you are like the world's worst date. You just won't go away once you have peoples' personal information.
I realize that Falsebook has taken on religious dimensions, and even those dearly departed will exist in a virtual heaven ( or hell,) depending on the photos.
Oh, I just had another creepy thought...you have now become the virtual persons of the corporate FACELESS FALSEBOOK. Have you seen your personal photos in an ad lately? Maybe they're not doing this now, but that was virtual slavery, you know.
So far, the Supreme Court has not taken away my right to be left alone, has it?
Falsebook, go away, far away. Your corporate DNA is all over the internet, and it really will turn out to carry a most deadly virus: figuratively, literally and virtually.
Paranoia is so cute. (NOT!)
First of all, of course you do not HAVE to join. When people say that, they mean they think you should.
Are there legit reasons to join? Absolutely. If you want to follow a specific journalist, for instance, or author/writer.
Lastly, you do not have to divulge anything.
When you join, you can actually put in any data, as to your name, gender, location, etc. They have no way of confirming anything but the email address you assign to it, and for that purpose, I recommend a free Yahoo or Hotmail or GMail account without your name, state, city, gender in the handle of the email name.
This in turn would allow you great anonymity and the ability to follow any journalist, authors, TV newscasters, whomever you might want to follow.
The reason people have real legitimate problems with Facebook is because they act like idiots and put in all kinds of PRIVATE data, and then they wonder what happens to them when they get zapped!
You do not put GENUINE PRIVATE data in anything if you want to protect it!
Lastly, this has nothing to do with your ultra-paranoid delusions such as "So far, the Supreme Court has not taken away my right to be left alone, has it?" Where on earth did you get that from at all?
"If BP can delete a page that isn't even their own and Facebook can make friends of people who would prefer to be strangers, then what is up with this?"
BP cannot delete a page that is not their own. How about growing up?
They can complain.
The one who deletes it is/was Facebook, themselves.
And that on earth is this lunacy about "...Facebook can make friends of people who would prefer to be strangers"?
They cannot. You really need to do your research before making yourself sound so - way out in the fringe of reasoning. One can set up all factors for "friends only" which I have, and no one, NO ONE, can be a friend of mine, without my consent, without my accepting it.
Really, you do need to get some real facts! Or perhaps, a life?
I fail to understand people even bothering with Facebook.
Almost from the beginning it has been known of their spying and yet...not even dead would I subscribe to Facebook. And yes...BOYCOTT BP!!!