Facebook opens sexually offensive chapter
The offending ‘closed’ group was finally removed last Tuesday (27) after frustrated attempts made over several days by Sri Lankan users of the social networking site to have it taken down. However, the possibility that the group could spring up again under a different name or the likelihood of ‘copycat’ groups being created was very real, and as such, authorities appealed to users to exercise vigilance and report any such groups or pages the moment they come across them.
Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team|Coordination Centre (SLCERT|CC) Information Security Engineer, Roshan Chandraguptha said several users had contacted it last week complaining about the group. He said SLCERT had then contacted Facebook in an official capacity to notify them of the offending group. Chandraguptha confirmed the group had been removed by Tuesday.
Users have complained that Facebook’s confusing settings for reporting offensive content make it difficult for them to report such groups and pages. The site’s own seemingly inconsistent policy of enforcing its guidelines has also worsened the problem, some added.Facebook’s statement of ‘Rights and Responsibilities’ offers users a variety of guidelines regarding online safety and protecting people’s rights. It specifically instructs users not to ‘bully, intimidate, or harass any user’ and not to post content that is ‘hate speech, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence’. However, the enforcing of such guidelines has been problematic. International media have reported an incident in 2011 where Facebook had refused to take down ‘joke’ groups that used humor to advocate rape.
“Groups or pages that express an opinion on a state, institution, or set of beliefs – even if that opinion is outrageous or offensive to some - do not by themselves violate our policies,” the company is quoted in a statement released to the BBC in October 2011, when thousands of people complained about one such site.
Chandraguptha however, pointed out Facebook had a responsibility to monitor groups and pages for offensive content and said the site’s administrators cannot turn a blind eye if people continue to report them. “Users should take the initiative to report such pages and groups. Some seem to be confused by the reporting mechanism. But if reported properly, they have to look into the complaints,” he added. Alternatively, users can also contact SLCERT by phone or email to register their complaints, and the centre would take the matter up with Facebook. Chandraguptha though, stressed the best option available to users was to first report the offending pages or groups to the site’s administrators.
When contacted Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRC) Deputy Director Legal GCP Moragoda pointed out the issue of such groups and pages was a global problem. Sometimes, those administering the groups and pages may be based overseas, making it difficult to take action against them. However, she pointed out that Facebook would have the identities of such persons in their servers, which they could turn over to law enforcement authorities. “But as Facebook is based in the United States, and thus subjected to US laws, there are practical issues in obtaining such data,” she added.
For groups or pages that advocated sexual violence against minors, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), in consultation with the Attorney General’s Department, could attempt to gain access to information of those posting content, but legal complexities make such tasks extremely difficult as well, she explained.
“Nevertheless, at some point, there needs to be an attempt to see if we can try to obtain the data to see who was administering and posting content in such groups,” Moragoda said. Police Spokesman SP Buddhika Siriwardena said Police could take action against those promoting rape and posting offensive content ‘provided these fall under the category of crimes stipulated under several Acts covering cybercrime’. The Cybercrime Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) would see about taking action if complaints are made. However, Siriwardena too pointed out the difficulty of tracking down perpetrators under existing laws and also due to international legal complexities.
While legal issues may at present stand in the way of authorities nailing those who post such offensive content, users can still make life difficult for offenders, by forcing Facebook to take such groups and pages down by continuously reporting them. The site’s administrators also have a responsibility to users by being consistent when it comes to enforcing guidelines.
“We take our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities very seriously and react quickly to remove reported content that violates our policies. In general, attempts at humor, even disgusting and distasteful ones, do not violate our policies. When real threats or statements of hate are made, however, we will remove them. We encourage people to report anything they feel violates our policies using the report links located throughout the site,” was the statement a company official gave ‘Wired’ magazine in April this year when it was contacted regarding threats of violence against women.
Facebook is the most popular social networking site on the planet. The site’s administrators however, cannot hide behind the ‘freedom of speech’ argument when it comes to advocating violence against women or children, or anyone. It can be argued that the more it acts to remove content that does this, the safer it would be for users, and thus making it even more popular than it is now.
Category: Breakingnews, EDITOR'S CHOICE, Facebook, Local, Technology, Technology News
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