Tell Facebook: Don't Censor Photos of Kids With Disabilities
When I posted photos on Facebook of my 7-year-old son, Cole, who has Down Syndrome, I was told that they violated the social media site's policies.
On Friday afternoon, Cole had attended his first Special Olympics event, at a local high school in North Carolina, and was all smiles. I uploaded 40 photos into a new album on Friday night.
When I logged back into Facebook on Sunday, I was informed that my photos violated Facebook's terms of use. I'd also been locked out of my account for three days.
Facebook needs to change its policy on how photos are flagged. I feel if you flag a photo you must submit a reason and then Facebook should review it before deciding. If Cole were older and understood more, this would be devastating to him.
I don't want a generic computer written apology; I want to make sure this never happens again.
This did not just offend my family but every other family out there with a "special" member. Please join me in telling Facebook not to censor photos of kids with disabilities.
Dear Mark Zuckerberg,
We, the undersigned, request that Facebook not censure photos of children with disabilities including Down Syndrome.
Last Friday, Diana Cornwell posted photos of her 7-year-old son, Cole, who has Down Syndrome and is non-verbal, on Facebook and was told that they violated the social media site's policies. On Friday afternoon, Cole had attended his first Special Olympics event, at a local high school in Davison County, North Carolina, and was “all smiles.” Cornwell uploaded 40 photos into a new album on Friday night.
When she logged back into Facebook on Sunday, she was informed that she had violated Facebook's terms of use and told that she should “Never upload any photos that contain hate speech, support for violent organizations or threats to harm others.” She has been also been locked out of her Facebook account for three days.
This censorship by Facebook of photos of children having a happy experience at a Special Olympics event is simply uncalled for. We ask that you not censure photos of children and individuals with disabilities. Even more, we ask that you apologize to Cornwell and her family for flagging their photos as violating Facebook's policies.
