Peace and Democracy Party asks Facebook to reopen its official pages

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Peace and Democracy Party's three official pages successively with thousands of followers each were shut down by Facebook. AFP photo

Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) officials have met with Facebook representatives this week, submitting a detailed file in a request to reopen their official pages.

BDP’s deputy head Filiz Koçalı said Sept. 21 that they asked Facebook to use clearly-defined criteria when confronted with such cases.

“We requested the use of well-defined criteria when assessing complaints and to return to its more liberal policy as in previous years,” Koçalı said, adding that three of their official pages had been closed successively, with different justifications each time.

BDP’s official page was closed because it allegedly published “pornographic content,” while another page with 180,000 followers was shut down for “transgressing Facebook rules."

“In the process that followed, our third page was also closed, this time without any justification,” Koçalı said.

‘Facebook is out of date’

A delegation consisting of party officials, scholars, internet experts, lawyers and activists held a meeting on Sept. 18 with Facebook’s Europe Director, Richard Allen, and Guardian news editor, Padraig Reidy.

“We expect a few things from Facebook: To reopen our pages and to adapt their criteria to the  idiosyncracies of our country. We want them to modernize their perspective because they are out of date,” Koçalı said.

She also added that the political views of Facebook employees were not related with the closure of the pages.