FACEBOOK has issued an apology to the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) after it blocked people from accessing the peace organisation's website from its platform.
Last week, The Ferret reported that CND were considering lodging a complaint to the communications regulator Ofcom because people trying to access its website from its Facebook page were notified that the URL breached "community standards".
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The social media platform says it has now resolved the issue but CND have criticised the company for failing to explain why its site was blocked in the first place.
The peace group suggested the block may have been due to a "malicious complaint" or because the word "bomb" featured in its URL.
*ANTI-NUCLEAR ACTIVISTS GAGGED BY FACEBOOK*
— Scottish CND (@ScottishCND) July 22, 2021
For the past several weeks, @Facebook has blocked Scottish CND's website https://t.co/xDiiQfHe1W with no explanation and no recourse.
Here's what you can do to help - *please share widely* pic.twitter.com/wKZUa3hWCt
David Mackenzie, assistant secretary at Scottish CND, told The Ferret: “Facebook has issued an apology ‘for any inconvenience caused’ by its blocking of any reference to our website banthebomb.org.
"How much better if it had gone on to explain what the reason was for the blocking action.”
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He added that the social media giant's failure to explain why the URL was blocked "leaves hanging in the air" the possibility it was due to a “malicious complaint from an individual or an authority that finds our opposition to the UK’s appalling weapons of mass destruction too irksome to tolerate”.
A spokesperson for Facebook said: “We have resolved the issue brought to our attention. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
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