Facebook will be dealing with a class action lawsuit related to its real name policy, which requires people to use their true identity in their account profiles on the social network.
A Native American is planning to lead the complaint against the social network giant in behalf all the people whose accounts were suspended for not using real names in their Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) profiles.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) received criticism from different sectors of society worldwide including domestic abuse survivors, the LGBT community, political activists, and others after implementing its real name policy.
Dana Lone Hill, a Native American decided to file a class action lawsuit after Facebook suspended her account for changing her profile name from her mother’s last name, Lone Hill to her father’s last name Lone Elk. The social network giant restored access to her account after her case was reported by national news outlets.
Lone Hill said, “I want to bring this lawsuit for Native America because these are our real names, these are the names that we were given, these were the names we were born with.” According to her, she wants Facebook to fix its system.
Facebook won court battle against German privacy watchdog
In 2012, Germany’s Privacy Commissioner Thilo Weichert issued a decree indicating its demand for Facebook to allow people to use pseudonyms. At the time, Weichert said, “It is unacceptable that a U.S. portal like Facebook violates German data protection law unopposed and with no prospect of an end.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) vowed to “vigorously fight” the decree and argued that its real name policy complies with the data protection laws in Europe. The social network giant explained that its real name policy protects users. It also makes the platform safe and reliable.
In 2013, the social network giant won a court battle against the German privacy watch dog to keep its real name policy. The court ruled that German users cannot use pseudonyms and nicknames as identity on their Facebook profiles.
Facebook apologized to the LGBT community
Last year, the social network giant’s real name policy received renewed criticism from the LGBT community when Facebook suspended the accounts of its members.
The social network giant discussed the situation and apologized to the LGBT community. Facebook also made a commitment to make changes in its real name policy that would allow users to choose names that reflect their authentic selves online, according to Mark Snyder, senior manager of communications at the Transgender Law Center.
Facebook’s real name policy makes users more accountable
Chris Cox, chief product officer of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) recently explained that the social network giant implemented its real name policy not to offend the LGBT community. Its primary intention is to prevent trolling, impersonation and cyberbullying.
He added that Facebook is already developing better tools to authenticate people’s identity while protecting the social network from bad actors.
“Having people use their authentic names makes them more accountable, and also helps us root out accounts created for malicious purposes, like harassment, fraud, impersonation and hate speech,” according a statement released by a spokesperson from Facebook.
