Aussie mothers protest against Facebook for removing breastfeeding photos

ANGRY mums have organised a protest at Facebook's Australian offices next week after the social network suspended users who had posted images of themselves breastfeeding.

bSydneysider Lucy Allen, 21, had her Facebook account deactivated for two days in July last year after she posted a photo of herself breastfeeding and pumping milk at the same time.

“Facebook didn’t actually give me a reason," Ms Allen said. "They just said it was a breach of their terms of use."

You be the judge. Scroll down to see the photo that was removed.

Ms Allen said that she used the image to explain to women that breastfeeding and pumping at the same time helped milk production.

“I use the photo a lot to give new mothers a visual example of how it’s done,” she said.

Ms Allen said she had since re-uploaded the photo and so far Facebook had not taken it down again.

Facebook’s terms of use state that users cannot post content that is hateful, pornographic, contains nudity or incites violence.

It also reserves the right to remove any content that infringes or violates another's rights or the law.

The policy has led to the creation of a group, “Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!”, which this week alone had 257,000 supporters removed from its social networking site internationally.

Stay-at-home mum April Bevin, 24, is another joining the “Boob Out” protest set to take place at Facebook’s Sydney offices in King Street at noon on February 7.

Facebook removed Ms Bevin's breastfeeding images late last year because they had been deemed sexually explicit and pornographic.

“It’s just really crappy,” Ms Bevin said. “Part of me was furious, another part just felt pretty upset.

“To me it’s just a normal part of my everyday life. My kid was just having lunch.

“It’s just really frustrating and upsetting and I think for a lot of other women they feel shamed.

“Here they are just doing a normal everyday thing and they’re told they’re performing sexually explicit and pornographic acts.”

So far 391 people have been recorded as having had breastfeeding photos removed by Facebook, according to website Tera.ca which was set up to collect all the images Facebook has taken down.

Of those, 375 have been temporarily banned from using Facebook - sometimes more than once.

Founder of the site, Paul Rappapport, wrote that it is likely many more people have been banned from Facebook than have actually been collected, explaining that he can only collect images of mothers who have reported the take down to him.

Facebook told news.com.au that breastfeeding photos were only ever removed after they had been brought to the social networking site’s attention by other users who report them as violations.

All photos are reviewed by Facebook before they are removed.

“Facebook is glad that mothers and their families - including many who work at Facebook - use Facebook to share their parenting experiences, including breastfeeding their children,” a spokesperson said.

“By uploading photos, joining groups, and engaging with different organisations, these families are able to share and connect on a very important topic, and we are thrilled they are using Facebook to do so.

“When it comes to uploaded photos on Facebook, the vast majority of breastfeeding photos comply with our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, which closely mirrors the policy that governs broadcast television, and which places limitations on nudity due to the presence of minors on our site.

“On some occasions, breastfeeding photos contain nudity – for example an exposed breast that is not being used for feeding – and therefore violate our terms. When such photos are reported to us and are found to violate our policies, the person who posted the photo is contacted, and the photos are removed.

“Our policies strive to fit the needs of a diverse community while respecting everyone’s interest in sharing content that is important to them, including experiences related to breastfeeding. “

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