Facebook criticised over cancer photo removal
Facebook has sometimes come under fire because of the content it makes available to people who use the site. As such, it has a number of policies in place to try and ensure its users are protected and to avoid further bouts of bad publicity. However, the social networking site’s nudity policy appears to have backfired after criticism concerning the removal of a photo of a cancer sufferer’s mastectomy scar.
The user in question posted the picture of the scar in order to raise awareness about the disease and to overcome prejudice against women who have had their breasts removed due to cancer. Unfortunately, the photo was removed according to Facebook’s policy on offensive material.
The photo was actually part of a campaign by an awareness group whose aim is to demonstrate that cancer does not rob its victims of their beauty or their dignity in their battle.
Facebook responded to criticism with the following statement:
While Anna’s cause is a worthy one, with over 500million users we have to put in place a set of universal guidelines. The image was removed because it contains nudity – not because of the nature of the nudity in question. We will however be reviewing our policy in this area in future.
It is unlikely that Facebook will be able to please everyone when it comes to its nudity policy. The site has been criticised in the past for removing the breastfeeding photos of new mothers.
The big problem with Facebook is that its policy is largely driven by the popular prejudice of some people in the USA instead of by facts. The result is that it encourages the attitudes which result in the appalling outcomes of the USA. It is not coincidence that the prudish USA has ten times the teenage pregnancy rate of least prudish European countries.