Facebook Apologizes To LGBT Community For Controversial Name Change Policy

[Shana A]

Facebook Apologizes To LGBT Community For Controversial Name Change Policy
The Huffington Post  | By James Nichols

Posted: 10/01/2014 4:54 pm EDT Updated: 10/02/2014 11:59 am EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/01/facebook-name-change_n_5916336.html

Facebook is apologizing to members of the LGBT community, specifically drag queens and transgender individuals, over the way their name change policy has disproportionately targeted and affected their identities.

Facebook came under fire several weeks ago after forcing a large percentage of individuals operating personal profiles on Facebook under pseudonyms, stage names, or any name not matching their legal name to change their name on Facebook or risk having their profiles deactivated. A number of individuals spoke out on the issue, including RuPaul and Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence member Sister Roma, who orchestrated a face-to-face meeting with Facebook to discuss the implications of this policy.

Today, the company's chief product officer, Chris Cox, apologized to "the affected community of drag queens, drag kings, transgender, and extensive community of our friends, neighbors, and members of the LGBT community" through a post on his personal profile.

[LordKAT]

It is bogus anyway to make anyone, especially kids, have to use their legal name on any internet site.

[Rachelicious]

I look forward with glee to the day that Facebook's imperialism is finally toppled by their muppets users.

[ImagineKate]

It is bogus anyway to make anyone, especially kids, have to use their legal name on any internet site.

Facebook used to not allow anyone under the age of 13 to join. Has that changed? I've been a facebooker since around 2004 or so, when it was just college only. I mostly just use it to share photos and links with family/friends now.

[LordKAT]

I've seen pages for very young kids. It isn't like you prove your age to make a page.

Even at 13, they should not have to use their legal name, no one should. It doesn't make it safer by any means no matter what spin he puts on it.

[Shana-chan]

This is just more proof of the evil that is, FB. Also, those comments in that article.  You're better off not reading them.

[Keira P]

This is one of those rules that only punish the people who follow it.

[Rachelicious]

This is one of those rules that only punish the people who follow it.

[serenityfaith]

As many of you are aware, Transgendered people all over the world are being kicked and even outed on their facebooks. Due to Facebook's "Real Name Policy" if you are trans, drag, or non binary and have a name on your profile that does not match your state-issued I.D. then they will lock you out, and once you send them copies of your I.D. in an attempt to unlock your account, they will post your dead name all over your profile, but your locked out so you cant change it!! Fabulous isnt it? The apology came in Oct. 2014. This happened to me personally in MARCH 2015! Here is the apology that Spokesman Chris Cox gave for this happening to all of us :

EDIT: Removed link, duplicates link in article

[Shana-chan]

I've always said Facebook is evil, as if their experiments weren't enough.

The apology came in Oct. 2014. This happened to me personally in MARCH 2015!

I'm guessing even with the apology you'd still have to out yourself to Facebook for any "chance" of something to be done right which isn't right plus there isn't any assurance they'll let you use the name you go by in real life even if one is trans. My only 2 recommendations are either stop using it or, try to contact a higher up person, perhaps the one who gave said apology?

[Eva Marie]

Its been a long time since I signed up for Facebook (and maybe this already exists?) but this problem seems simple to me - provide a private area somewhere on your Facebook profile where you provide your real legal name and contact info and ensure that information is not visible to other Facebook users. That way Facebook has the information that they want and you can still use a handle instead of outing yourself with personally identifying information.

Another thought is maybe just to ban the person that reported all of those users instead of forcing the reported users to jump through hoops. This was clearly done out of malice, and clearly the majority of those users weren't doing anything wrong other than using a handle instead of a legal name. The person reporting all of those users was the one in the wrong.

The sad fact is that there ARE people in the world that might do us harm and it is prudent to protect ourselves as best we can from them. For that reason my own female Facebook page doesn't have and never will have my last name on it.