‘Kill Mitt Romney” Facebook Page Approved – Does Not Violate Facebook Terms and Conditions

Facebook has approved a new user page entitled ‘Kill Mitt Romney.’

The description given for the page indicates that its creation was purposeful and includes the tag line “This is a page advocating the murder of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.” What’s more troubling is that the page has 30 user ‘Likes.’

According to a report from the Nebraska Attitude web site, Facebook users have sent complaints to the firm, but received automated responses that indicate the Facebook editorial team has made the decision to let the page stand in its current form.

The social networking firm, who has been known to reject or censor political speech, nude art and other controversial pages responded to user complaints with the following email on Sunday August 26:

Hi,

Thanks for your recent report of a potential violation on Facebook. After reviewing your report, we were not able to confirm that the specific page you reported violates Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

Learn more about what we do and don’t allow by reviewing the Facebook Community Standards:https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards.

Thanks,
Viki

Give us feedback to let us know how we are doing.

(Source)

Numerous comments on the page show the outrage of users who have reportedly filed more claims with Facebook, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

With Mitt Romney and his family now receiving Secret Service protection, the page will likely not make it through the day, especially if the FBI gets involved. But, the incident highlights the fact the Facebook’s human editorial team can be biased, often picking and choosing which pages are within their standards and which aren’t.

On Facebook’s page of “Community Standards” it clearly states:

Safety is Facebook’s top priority. You may not credibly threaten to harm others, or organize acts of real-world violence.

Is this a simple understanding or does someone stating that they are “advocating for the murder of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney” not qualify as a “credible” threat to Mitt Romney and therefore violate Facebook’s “standards”?

Again, I wonder how many seconds a “Kill Barack Obama” Facebook page would remain on Facebook?

The time stamp on the email sent from Facebook indicates that the company was made aware of the page on Sunday at 9:05 PM Central Time.

The page was still active on the Facebook network at the time this report was published.

The Kill Mitt Romney Facebook page can be viewed here: http://www.facebook.com/KillMittRomney.

Update: Pressure from user flags, feedback and likely the FBI has led to Facebook removing the page.