Mom in Trouble with Facebook After Sharing Coppertone-Inspired Photo
I thought the illustration was funny. My parents also thought it funny. Facebook, it turns out, does not approve. On June 30th, she posted the photo on the company’s Facebook page in tribute. Coppertone did not take down the photo, but several people reported White for offending community standards. Facebook flagged the image three hours later for violating their policy against “nudity and pornography.” The social media site asked White to remove the photo or change her privacy settings. Nowhere did I see anything pornographic about this photo. She eventually reposted the photo with an emoji covering the offending bit of skin. White told Fox News that if she puts the original image back up, Facebook will ban her from the site. Facebook’s policy makes clear that they have the authority to remove content they feel violates their terms of service. Her puppy dog now pulls on a long shirt that covers her entire torso, a response, I imagine, not only to changing opinions on child nudity, but also concerns about exposing our children to too much of the sun’s damaging rays. Around our house, we have a pretty laid back view on wearing clothing. He’ll often jump into bed with us to cuddle in the morning, none of us wearing clothes. It feels good going about nude in the summertime — we don’t have an air conditioner — and I don’t believe anyone should feel shame about their bodies. It’s unbelievable to me that they allow photographs of young adults posing with automatic weapons, but would ban just a hint of a toddler’s butt. Seems to me that they’re putting their attention and authority in the wrong place. What do you think? Did Facebook go too far? Or were they right in taking it down at the risk of offending others, and out of concern for the child’s safety?
