Facebook Blocks Mom: Breastfeeding Photos Removed, Sparking Backlash (VIDEO)
Facebook has blocked a mom for breastfeeding photos being uploaded to her page designed to help other mothers.
The mom was allegedly running a Facebook page for new mothers, and one of her fans had thought the photos would be natural and healthy for other moms to see, so she uploaded the photos to the page. However, Facebook regulators disagreed and ended up blocking the account.
According to reports, Kristy Kemp was running a moms' support site called "Breastfeeding Mama Talk," which has been reasonably popular, drawing 4,300 fans. However, the problems started when one of the fans uploaded the breastfeeding photo. Facebook blocked Kemp out of her account, stopping her from running the page she created for a 24 hour period.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Facebook also deleted the photo saying that it "violated" the company's rules, sparking widespread backlash with many accusing the social media site of labeling breastfeeding as similar to pornographic material.
Facebook promotes rules that state: "Facebook has a strict policy against the sharing of pornographic content and any explicitly sexual content where a minor is involved. We also impose limitations on the display of nudity. We aspire to respect people's right to share content of personal importance, whether those are photos of a sculpture like Michelangelo's David or family photos of a child breastfeeding."
The issue angered Kemp, and she decided to test out Facebook's policies, so as soon as her block out ended she uploaded another photo of a mom breastfeeding. That one too was also quickly removed by regulators of the social media site.
Kemp has told Fox 40: "It's not right. I'm trying to do good for mothers and I'm getting kicked off for posting pictures of the most beautiful act a mother can do her for kid. It's not right."
This is not the first time that breastfeeding has become an issue on Facebook. Just last year mother Emma Kwasnica uploaded a photo of herself breastfeeding, and that too led to her being blocked out for a period.
At that time Facebook explained: "We agree that breastfeeding is natural and we are very glad to know that it is important for mothers, including the many mothers who work at Facebook, to share their experience with others on the site. The vast majority of breastfeeding photos are compliant with our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Facebook takes no action on such content. However, photos which contain a fully exposed breast, do violate our terms and may be removed if they are reported to us."
However, that policy and explanation seemed inconsistent with Kemp's recent photos. Since the firestorm around Kemp's block out went viral, Facebook has reinstated her access and also apologized for the block out.
Here is a previous video of a protest by a group of women against Facebook's breastfeeding policies:
