Technology / Internet
Facebook removes page targeting Newcastle Gay community
04 Jun 2013 at 09:26hrs | Views
A Facebook page that claims to reveal intimate details about the sex lives of gay people in Newcastle, UK, has been shut down, the Sky Tyne and Wear reported.
The 'Scene DirtDisher' profile contained similar posts to the recently banned 'Rate My Shag' pages on Facebook, including people naming their sexual partner, giving them a score out of 10 and graphically describing their experiences.
Facebook removed the page after Sky Tyne and Wear contacted them about it.
A member of the public initially reported the page to Facebook on June 1 but the page was not taken down.
The 'DirtDisher' profile, which was accessible to the public, attracted almost 600 friends by the time it was shut down on the afternoon on Monday June 3.
The complainant, a member of the gay community who does not wish to be named, said: "When I made the initial report, the options available for 'type of complaint' were very ambiguous. I selected the option, which complained about 'inappropriate sexual content' as in my opinion that would best describe what this page is about.
"Facebook obviously do not check out these reports properly, and base their decision purely on whether or not the page had pornographic images. In other words, they're saying as long as the offender doesn't post any pornographic images, he/she is welcome to continue bullying and harassing people through their platform."
Chris Elwick was one of those targeted on the page and says more should be done to regulate the social media website.
He said: "The information that was posted on the page was not very nice, it's bullying and that's not something I condone at all.
"For people dealing with their sexuality, it's hard enough as it is, especially for young people. I don't think that anyone needs the added stress that something like this brings.
"I think Facebook need to take a stronger stance on pages like this and possibly take a look at their regulations and how they vet people and profiles."
The 26-year-old bar manager has now set up his own Facebook page which aims to combat online bullying.
A Facebook spokesperson said: "There is no place for harassment on Facebook, but unfortunately a small minority of malicious individuals exist online, just as they do offline.
"We have a real name policy and provide people with simple tools to block people or report content which they find threatening so that we can remove it quickly."
The 'Scene DirtDisher' profile contained similar posts to the recently banned 'Rate My Shag' pages on Facebook, including people naming their sexual partner, giving them a score out of 10 and graphically describing their experiences.
Facebook removed the page after Sky Tyne and Wear contacted them about it.
A member of the public initially reported the page to Facebook on June 1 but the page was not taken down.
The 'DirtDisher' profile, which was accessible to the public, attracted almost 600 friends by the time it was shut down on the afternoon on Monday June 3.
The complainant, a member of the gay community who does not wish to be named, said: "When I made the initial report, the options available for 'type of complaint' were very ambiguous. I selected the option, which complained about 'inappropriate sexual content' as in my opinion that would best describe what this page is about.
"Facebook obviously do not check out these reports properly, and base their decision purely on whether or not the page had pornographic images. In other words, they're saying as long as the offender doesn't post any pornographic images, he/she is welcome to continue bullying and harassing people through their platform."
Chris Elwick was one of those targeted on the page and says more should be done to regulate the social media website.
He said: "The information that was posted on the page was not very nice, it's bullying and that's not something I condone at all.
"For people dealing with their sexuality, it's hard enough as it is, especially for young people. I don't think that anyone needs the added stress that something like this brings.
"I think Facebook need to take a stronger stance on pages like this and possibly take a look at their regulations and how they vet people and profiles."
The 26-year-old bar manager has now set up his own Facebook page which aims to combat online bullying.
A Facebook spokesperson said: "There is no place for harassment on Facebook, but unfortunately a small minority of malicious individuals exist online, just as they do offline.
"We have a real name policy and provide people with simple tools to block people or report content which they find threatening so that we can remove it quickly."
Source - SKY
