Facebook Libel Walk Through

2010-05-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a walk through of the Facebook point-and-click libel system and how it may affect you or a cause you care deeply about.

First, you join Facebook, having heard about what a great way it is to connect with people, or, as Betty White says, what a "colossal waste of time" it is.

Next, say you care about saving the whales from being hunted by the Japanese and others under the pretense of "scientific research" as many do (including myself). You look for and join various Facebook causes and groups that are active on the issue. You post comments, carefully thought out, legitimate, non-offensive comments in discussion forums in the course of exercising your right to freedom of speech on the issue.

But, there are people who want to eat whale blubber, or who want to sell whale meat, and they fight to defend their rights to murder a fellow, intelligent creature for that purpose. They create a bunch of fake Facebook profiles, going to libraries or logging in from friend's houses to use a number of different IP addresses as they do so. They upload profile pictures that they've found on the web, make up biographies, and "friend" each other.

Then, as a team, they "report" you, as explained in the previous article, for your posts in discussion groups, anonymously accusing you of engaging in "hate speech" or circulating pornography, or having a false profile. They do this many times, using many different fake profiles that they've set up.

In spite of what Facebook claims about reviewing every complaint, what happens next is that your account is disabled. You do not receive any warnings, you do not receive any notifications, you do not have any way of even knowing this has happened, or why. You attempt to log on to your account, and you see the following notice:

The only thing you can do about it is click to their FAQ page, which is not very helpful. There, you will find the following lawyerese explanations.

This is pure nonsense. Facebook has 500 million supposed members, and very limited manpower to look at anything. When my account was disabled most recently, I had made only about 5 posts, and those were in support of a retired FBI agent. Not exactly radical stuff. They do not review anything, they simply disable your account based on the anonymous libel that has been committed against you.

Why do they do this? Here is Facebook's explanation, on the same FAQ page:

Again, this is nonsense. You don't need to violate a single one of these policies to have your account disabled. I know of a dozen people who have had it happen without breaking any rules. What you do that brings the disabling is speak out on an issue, any issue, that has opponents. Or have an enemy, for whatever reason, who wants to cause you harm. If you are a Democrat and are active in politics, Republicans might do it to you. If you are a Republican, it could be Democrats. It does not matter what the cause. If there is someone against it, you cannot count on your Facebook account to be there if you need it.

But surely, they will reinstate you after you tell they you've done nothing wrong... right? Maybe, eventually. Here's the process. You go to this page, in which you say your account was disabled because you violated their policies, even though you didn't violate their policies but were simply lied about. "Submit this form ONLY if your account was disabled for violating Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities." Of course, since they will not provide you with any information whatsoever on why your account was disabled, you have no way of knowing. And, of course, you did nothing wrong in the first place, but the only way you can get them to reinstate your account is by admitting that you violated their "Rights and Responsibilities." You have to plead guilty to even communicate with them.

When you fill this out, you wait, and wait, and in a few days they email you back with more lawyerese. Here is a copy of what you will receive:

Hi,

In an effort to maintain a culture of authenticity on the site, Facebook requires users to provide their real first and last names. Impersonating anyone or anything is prohibited, and fake accounts are a violation of our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

Your account has been suspended because we have received reports that your account could be in violation of our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. If you believe you were disabled by mistake, please reply to this email with a scanned image or digital picture of a government-issued ID (e.g., driver’s license, passport, etc.) and make sure the following information is clear:

- Full name
- Date of birth
- Photo

Please black out any personal information that is not needed to verify your identity (e.g., social security number). Rest assured that we will permanently delete your ID from our servers once we have used it to verify the authenticity of your account.

Note that writing in and submitting your ID multiple times will not result in a faster response. Once you submit your initial request, it is placed in a queue and responded to accordingly. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Thanks for contacting Facebook,

User Operations
Facebook

Rather than admitting that they disabled your account without any recourse, without any right to reply, face your accuser, or any other such niceties that are associated with justice and fair play, they demand that you prove that you are who you say you are. So, you do that. Fax back your photo ID.

Then you wait, and wait, and wait. And nothing happens for weeks. Remember that they have 500 million "members" and a tiny fraction of that number of support staff. Meanwhile, your Facebook friends, loved ones, associates simply see nothing. It is as if your account never existed. All you materials disappear, all your posts disappear, your messages disappear, and unless they happen to know your email address, no one can contact you. Invaluable communications may never happen, relationships may be severed forever. Irreparable damage may be done. And all because you spoke out about an issue you deeply cared about.

Even when your account is re-enabled, don't relax. The first time mine was disabled it was restored after just 10 days or so. Then someone anonymously "reported" it again, and it was gone in just a few days. It is now three weeks and counting waiting for reinstatement. That's why I set  up this blog.

So, that's the system. Point-and-click libel, automatic account disabling, and a painfully slow, or never, process of restoration. Due process in the age of Facebook.

Facebook's Point-and-Click Libel System

2010-05-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Great news! You no longer have to actually type or write anything to commit libel in the comfort of your own home. Facebook, which has come under wilting fire for its opaque, constantly changing, and unpredictable privacy policies, has another serious issue with user information, libel. All you have to do to anonymously level serious, completely false, non-refutable, and permanently recorded charges against anyone on Facebook, is "point-and-click." The following graphic, drawn directly from Facebook, shows how to do this.

Note the feature, "All reports are strictly confidential." This means that the person you accuse of, say, "Racist/Hate Speech" has no way of facing their accuser. They don't even know who their accuser is. So much for the rights of the accused.

Although Facebook claims to review any "reports" that are made before taking action, this is clearly nonsense. What they actually do is "disable" your account, without you even receiving any notice of the disabling.

So, what is the problem with this, enabling users to police each other? It is being totally abused by people who have political and social agendas. One of the first major abuses came from Islamic fundamentalists who "reported" opponents of repressive Islamic regimes. They were removed from Facebook by the automated systems and had no recourse other than to plead to be reinstated, and wait, and wait, and wait while their political opponents carry on.

My own disabled accounts have been attacked because of my support for freeing Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, wrongfully convicted of murder in Perugia, Italy. This is an extremely contentious matter between a small, strangely motivated team of people ("Guilters") who work relentlessly to keep innocent people in prison, and who will stop at nothing to achieve this goal, and a much larger group or people who are trying to achieve a just outcome. For more on this, see my blog on the subject at:http://www.sciencespheres.com.

In one, roughly 24 hour period, the Guilters "reported" more than a dozen people (including myself) who have supported Knox's freedom, and successfully had their Facebook accounts disabled. Not one of us was notified in any way. No opportunity was given to respond, no information was provided as to what we were accused of. We have no way of knowing if we were accused of hate speech, pornography, bullying, threats, whatever. And we have no way of removing these accusations from our records with Facebook. It is stored in their computer systems, and there is nothing we can do about it.

All of this is like something out of an old Twilight Zone episode where the hateful little person is reporting all those he sees as evil in the world. And it is brought to you by Facebook.

Facebook Point-and-Click Libel

Facebook Libel Walk Through

Facebook's Point-and-Click Libel System