Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Facebook administrators are heartless scum

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/13093809/mum-blocked-from-dead-daughters-facebook-page/




A grieving mother has talked about her anguish after Facebook prevented her from logging into her dead daughter's page in order to protect her privacy.
British mother Louise Palmer said after her 19-year-old daughter Becky died from a brain tumour she was devastated.
Ms Palmer said during her lowest points she found comfort in logging into her daughter's Facebook page and reading old messages.
But four weeks ago, Ms Palmer noticed the login details had been changed so she could no longer access the page, according to the Daily Mail.
When she questioned Facebook they said she could no longer login because it may be an invasion of Becky's privacy.
Ms Palmer, 47, called Facebook administrators "heartless" and said her daughter shared everything with her.
"I can't believe Facebook can be so heartless and inconsiderate. The loss of my only child has been heartbreaking.
But at least in my darkest hours I could login to her Facebook account and read her messages remembering her as the vibrant girl she used to be," she told the Daily Mail.
"Becky had no privacy from me - we shared absolutely everything.
"Towards the end of her life she couldn't write or read more than a few sentences so I used to log in for her and read out to her what her friends were up to.
"But also I fail to see how anyone can invade the privacy of a dead person."
Ms Palmer, a nurse from West Midlands, said she began logging into her daughter's account after Becky fell ill with a seizure on New Year's Day in 2010.
After her daughter's death, Ms Palmer continued to log in and remove spam comments from the page.
According to Facebook guidelines, when a user passes away it is their policy to "memorialise" their account to protect their privacy.
Memorialising an account automatically gives privacy settings which means only confirmed friends can see the profile or locate it in a search.
Although family and friends can still leave posts, memorialising an account prevents anyone from logging in.
Facebook requests that family and friends report the death of a user to them. The verified next of kin can then submit a special request to have the deceased person's account deleted but will need to present documentation such as a death certificate.
When Ms Palmer first found out she could no longer log into her daughter's account she thought it was a mistake.
"I felt there must be some mistake as a request for something such as this could only come from the next of kin and I hadn't asked for it," she said.
But when she contacted Facebook they replied in an email stating "unfortunately for privacy reasons, we cannot make changes to the profile or provide login information for the account".
"I was angry and devastated as although people can post on the Wall, I can't read any of her old conversations nor remove any spam. It means her page looks like an uncared for grave with weeds growing on it," she said.
"People who did not have a Facebook account or who weren't friends on Facebook can now no longer even see the page even though they might want to leave a message of condolence on the Wall."
A Facebook group has now been set up with 1500 protesters asking for the page to be reinstated as it was.
"We just want Facebook to show some compassion," Ms Palmer said

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