How would you feel if your Facebook account is suddenly suspended? Lost and angry? That was what Chinese blogger and activist, Michael Anti felt after his account was canceled in January.
Anti, whose legal name is Zhao Jing said that Facebook sent him an email explaining that it is against its policy to use a fictitious name.
Anti argues that his professional identity as Michael Anti has been established for more than a decade, with published articles and essays. Anti, a former journalist who has won fellowships at both Cambridge University and Harvard University, said he set up his Facebook account in 2007.
By locking him out of his account, Facebook has cut him off from a network of more than 1,000 academic and professional contacts who know him as Anti, he told AP.
“I’m really, really angry. I can’t function using my Chinese name. Today, I found out that Zuckerberg’s dog has a Facebook account. My journalistic work and academic work is more real than a dog,” he said.
There is strong reason why Zhao Jing prefers to be known as Anti. He explained that there is a long tradition in China for writers and journalists to take pen names, partly as protection from retaliation from the Chinese authorities. He further explained that Facebook’s requirement to use real names could potentially put Chinese citizens in danger.
There aren’t many users in China, though: Only about 650,000 users in China currently. The number of users in China dropped after a strong growth was experienced a month ago. Let us know your thoughts.
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Great article. This really struck a cord with me. I was amazed that an account was created for Zuckerberg’s dog. Obviously it was great PR, but I always thought that Facebook was setup for people.
This article brought home, how unjust the Facebook standards can be. Facebook really needs to rethink their policies, especially as it relates to countries that have a higher level of censorship and oppression of ideas.
Seems like this just became ‘Anti Social Network’
No pun intended.
Kenneth Lee
http://www.ideasforsmallbusinesses.blogspot.com