Facebook Builds A Rough Road Back For Those Booted...

buzzfeed.com

Facebook Builds A Rough Road Back For Those Booted By Its “Real Name” Policy

Process hell and faceless bureaucracy may await those locked out of their accounts — even when they use their legal names.

“Real name does not mean your legal name,” [Zuckerberg] said. “If your friends all call you by a nickname and you want to use that name on Facebook, you should be able to do that.”

Despite best intentions, enforcing the policy favors trolls and bullies, and results in a labyrinthian quest of robotic replies for the person trying to verify their identity.

While it may seem inconvenient to some, it results in real danger for others.

The stories go on. One African LGBT advocate was locked out of his account last week and only let back in yesterday. Being gay in his country puts him at legal and physical risk, so he uses an alias on Facebook out of necessity. He has none of the supporting documentation Facebook requires to prove his name is authentic. “I am afraid my fellow activists will lose their accounts soon,” he told BuzzFeed News. “Facebook has been an oasis of peace for us. We already live underground and if we lose that space then there is no way for [our country’s] LGBT to get together.” Fearing a backlash in his country, he asked us not to reference it or his name.

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