{"id":158577678,"date":"2010-01-10T09:21:18","date_gmt":"2010-01-10T09:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=158577678"},"modified":"2010-01-10T09:21:18","modified_gmt":"2010-01-10T09:21:18","slug":"facebook-refuses-to-remove-group-promoting-anti-cyclist-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=158577678","title":{"rendered":"Facebook Refuses to Remove Group Promoting Anti-Cyclist Violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Matthew Roth<\/a> on January 8, 2010<\/abbr><\/p>\n

\n
\"bike_hate_1.gif\"Screenshot from the Facebook group promoting dooring, among other acts that injure cyclists.<\/span><\/div>\n

A
\nnumber of Streetsblog readers have noticed a particularly loathsome
\ngroup that has sprouted up on Facebook and has a legion of fans. As of
\nthis writing, more than 32,000 people are fans of “There’s a perfectly good bike path right next to the road you stupid cyclist<\/a>,”
\na group page with a bunch of anti-cyclist screeds and some pretty nasty
\nphotos of bicycle crashes and car-on-bike violence. Facebook has
\nconcluded that the group does not violate the site’s terms of use and
\nwill not shut it down.<\/p>\n

“It’s a stupid and offensive joke and unfortunately there are still
\npeople who don’t see that bicyclists have the same rights as
\neveryone else,” said Marc Caswell, Program Manager at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. “It’s a cruel example of the
\nignorance of cyclists’ rights. We would encourage people to report it
\nas offensive.” <\/p>\n

The
\nsite is full of the vitriol one has come to expect online and in
\nanonymous comment sections, but unlike blogs or online forums, all the
\nfuming leaves a clear path to the users who posted it. <\/p>\n

The first user to link the group was Ryan Woolcott<\/a>,
\nwho hails from Australia, and several of the references to road rules
\nare of British provenance or from former British colonies. In the
\n“About Me” section, it reads: “No matter how far to the left you are,
\nyou’re taking up my road. My car is hard, and i am not slowing down!”<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\"bike_hate_2\"A photo from a road race on June 3, 2008 in Mexico, when a drunk driver killed<\/a> one cyclist and injured more than ten others. Posted to the group by Sean Tysoe<\/a>
<\/span><\/div>\n

In addition to creating a counter group called “HELP REMOVE this HATE GROUP against cyclists!”<\/a>,
\na number of cyclists have become fans of the original group and have
\nposted agitprop in the form of bicycle photos. While there are
\ndisturbing photos of cars creaming cyclists and road signs promoting
\nviolence against cyclists, the photo album is full of pictures of the
\nkind of bike porn you might expect on Bike Blog<\/a> or Fixed Gear Gallery<\/a>. And there are easily as many photos of “Share the Road” signs as the opposite.<\/p>\n

Streetsblog asked Facebook whether this group violates their Terms of Use<\/a>, particularly sections 6 and 7, under
\n“Safety”:<\/p>\n

\n
6. You will not bully, intimidate, or harass any user.
7.
\nYou will not post content that is hateful, threatening, pornographic,
\nor that contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Facebook’s
\nSimon Axten told us the group has been reviewed and deemed kosher by
\nthe company’s staff. Presumably the reason they are not removing this
\ngroup boils down to how one interprets the phrase “actionable threats
\nof violence.” Here’s Axten’s explanation:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n
We
\ntake our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities very seriously and
\nreact quickly to remove reported content that violates our policies.
\nSpecifically, we’re sensitive to content that includes hate speech
\nand\/or actionable threats of violence. The goal of these policies is to
\nstrike a very delicate balance between giving Facebook users the
\nfreedom to express their opinions and beliefs, even controversial ones,
\nand maintaining a safe and trusted environment.<\/p>\n

We’ve reviewed
\nthis group and determined that it doesn’t violate our policies.  We
\nencourage users to report anything they feel does violate these
\npolicies using the report links located throughout the site. Thanks.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"law_of_physics.jpg\"Posted to the group by Chelsea Kerr<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n

Any legal minds care to comment?<\/p>\n

H\/T Bike Portland<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\nhttps:\/\/sf.streetsblog.org\/2010\/01\/08\/facebook-refuses-to-remove-group-promoting-anti-cyclist-violence\/<\/a><\/p>\n

And another report:
\nA UK-based spokesperson for Facebook told road.cc: “The page in question was created in humour and does not violate our Terms of Use as it is a not a direct attack on a specific person and the admins are not advocating violence towards any one person.”<\/a><\/p>\n

It ain’t funny if you have ever been on the receiving end of this.<\/b>oldId.20100110092118169<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Matthew Roth on January 8, 2010 Screenshot from the Facebook group promoting dooring, among other acts that injure cyclists. A number of Streetsblog readers have noticed a particularly loathsome group that has sprouted up on Facebook and has a legion of fans. As of this writing, more than 32,000 people are fans of “There’s … <\/p>\n

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