Facebook Cracks Down On Everything, Right Down To Which Names Are Acceptable

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We all know that Facebook is a free social media service that millions of people around the world use. We all use it for business and personal information alike, but, here lately, it is beginning to seem like it isn’t even worth the hassle anymore. They keep getting more and more controlling, and many people think they are going too far. This time, I must say I agree. We just reported on how they are now going to start prohibiting headlines that they consider to be ‘clickbait.’ That is just the latest in a long line of changes. I had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of their most ridiculous control tactic yet: the inability to display a name of which they disapprove.


Now, I have used the same name- Shannon Equality Barber- as my name on Facebook since 2010. Many people added the word ‘Equality’ in some form or another along with their own real names to profiles as a show of support for LGBT rights. Now, out of the blue, Facebook has decided that this is unacceptable. I was logged out of my account with a message that said that Facebook is a community of real people, and only allows real names. The only way I could add the Equality back was to show a government issued piece of identification that verified that this was indeed my name. In other words, Facebook is determined to have access to as much personal information as they can possibly get their hands on, or else you cannot use their service.

This requirement is problematic for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that people should be able to use display names in any way they see fit. While no one with any common sense whatsoever labors under the delusion that anyone is ever?truly?anonymous on the internet, we should be able to make small changes to screen names to make ourselves harder to find if we so choose. Further, how on earth do they know that Equality isn’t my middle name? I’ve certainly seen stranger names in my day.


The other truly problematic part of this practice is that it is inherently transphobic. Plenty of transgender people have to wait- quite literally- years to change government documents to match their target gender. So, in other words, they wouldn’t have the required documents to meet Facebook’s ridiculously invasive and unnecessary requirements. Whoever thought this newest way to heckle Facebook users up did not, in any way, think it through, at all. Shame on you, Facebook. You claim to be pro equality, but you’ve just instituted a policy that is clearly anything but. Keep it up, and you’ll go the way of Myspace. There are, after all, other social media outlets that allow a lot more freedom.

I had a successful career actively working with at-risk youth, people struggling with poverty and unemployment, and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. In 2011, I made the decision to pursue my dreams and become a full-time writer. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.