People with odd names beware: you’re not always welcome on Facebook.
Facebook have come under fire for banning users who have unusual names.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that administrators of the popular social networking site banned Elmo Keep, from Sydney, for violating the website’s terms of use.
Facebook has a history of locking people out of their accounts after deciding that they aren’t using their real name. Once they do so, the user is then forced to scan a picture of a government issued ID card to regain access to their account.
Other people who have been banned by Facebook include US political blogger Jon Swift, Japanese author Hiroko Yoda and British member of Parliament Steve Webb.
Names aren’t the only thing that the Facebook secret police are on the hunt for. Having too many friends, poking too many people, joining too many groups and posting too many messages on a group or someone’s wall.
Facebook says people are forced to provide correct details to maintain the website’s credibility, and to prevent aliasing. Unfortunately, that goes down the tube when you have to use a fake name to ensure the security of your account.
The experience has Keep, a 27 year-old rock critic, rethinking about the security of providing your personal information online.
“People take for granted I think that it is a service provided by a corporate but because it features such familiarity of your own and it is that idea of a ‘my space’ that you’ve created, you kind of forget that it is actually a business model controlled by someone else as they see fit,” said Keep.
Funnily enough, Keep is an online journalism lecturer at the University of Sydney. She’s also a consultant to businesses on the use of social networking into their business plans.
Source:
Sydney Morning Herald
Additional Material:
Stuff.co.nz
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