Facebook Backpedaling On Its “Legal Name” Policy

Following weeks of petitioning, protesting, and fighting, Facebook appears to be easing up on its selective enforcement of its so-called "legal name" policy. While it's not a total victory yet, the progress made in just a few short weeks is encouraging, and crusaders like Sister Roma have got to be breathing a sigh of relief.

According to the New York Times (link below), Facebook is going to reinstate the "preferred" names of hundreds of performers, as well as many gay, lesbian, trans, and bisexual users of the site.

But Facebook, the world’s largest social network with nearly 1.3 billion active monthly users, was vague about what broader exceptions it would actually allow to its real-name policy.

In a Facebook post, Chris Cox, the company’s chief product officer, apologized to those recently affected by Facebook’s enforcement of the policy. “We owe you a better service and a better experience using Facebook, and we’re going to fix the way this policy gets handled so everyone affected here can go back to using Facebook as you were,” he said.

However, Cox's statement goes on to say that “This policy, on balance, and when applied carefully, is a very powerful force for good,” which leads many to believe that it's only a matter of time before more bigots can head back to their Facebook pages and begin reporting people again. 

David Campos, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, pictured above with Sister Roma, considers this a first step toward an overall victory in this fight.

“Facebook apologized to the community and has committed to removing any language requiring that you use your legal name. They’re working on technical solutions to make sure that nobody has their name changed unless they want it to be changed and to help better differentiate between fake profiles and authentic ones.”

It's virtually impossible not the think that the sudden emergence of rival social network Ello had something to do with this, though it is tough to imagine Facebook feeling threatened by anyone person or entity. Nevertheless, progress is progress, so we should at least celebrate this small victory, and look forward to continued victories to come. 

Via New York Times