Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Facebook Is Making An Important Change To Its Real Name Policy

In response to feedback from the Facebook community,
the company has decided to make a small but important
alteration to its user identification process.

Currently, when a Facebook user’s profile has been
challenged by someone for (1) not being a real person,
(2) using someone else’s name or (3) “using a name that
they don’t go by in everyday life,” Facebook requires the
flagged user to provide proof of their legal identity within
the week or else the profile could be terminated.

Following up on a problem the social media company
confronted when several members of the LGBT
community were reported for “fake” names and deleted
from the site, Facebook announced on Tuesday (Dec. 15)
that while the policy is not being dismissed altogether,
they will offer flagged users the opportunity to discuss
any special circumstances that explain why they’ve
submitted a different name, in addition to requiring
reporters to submit exactly why they think a profile is
illegitimate in the first place.
As for the self-verification process, FB will now allow
people to “let us know if they have a special
circumstance, and then give us more information about
their unique situation.”

This screencap previews the pre-populated options for
explanation:

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“These improvements are only the beginning,” the
company explained in a press release.
“Early in the new year, we will be looking at other ways
we can reduce the number of people who have to go
through an ID verification experience, while preserving the
safety of other people on the site. We will also continue
to work on making the experience itself more
compassionate and easier to navigate.”

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