Facebook Bans Journalist's Pseudonym
Facebook will not allow journalist Laurie Penny to use a pseudonym because it violates their naming policy. Penny argues that policy has opened her up to terrible threats.
Matt Kelemen
Updated 04.14.17 10:34AM ET / Published 06.24.15 7:25PM ET
Michael Dalder/Reuters
The sky is blue, water is wet and Facebook has once again found itself at the center of criticism for its name policy.
The Guardian is reporting that Laurie Penny, an English journalist and contributing editor at The New Statesman, has accused Facebook of putting her at "more risk of rape and death threats" after her profile was suspended from the site for using a pseudonym.
On her Twitter account, Penny wrote that she had "been using a pseudonym [to] hide from goddamned trolls."
Penny's experience is just another example of the problems many find with Facebook's "real-name policy". As reported in The Daily Beast this past May, survivors of domestic violence have voiced concerns that the social network's policy of only using their real names puts them in danger.
Facebook has also faced scrutiny from drag performers and other members of the LGBT community who were kicked off the site for not using their legal names. Native Americans have also been suspended from the site when Facebook deemed their names to be "inauthentic".
In a statement to The Daily Beast regarding these past controversies, a Facebook spokesperson said: "Over the last several months, we've made some significant improvements in the implementation of this standard, including enhancing the overall experience, expanding the options available for verifying an authentic name, and allowing people continued access to their profiles while they work to verify their name."