Facebook bans breast cancer survivor's snap
EXCLUSIVE
by Lynn Cox
lcox@thekmgroup.co.uk
A cancer survivor who was banned from Facebook after
posting a picture of her reconstructed breasts has now had her
account reactivated.
Melissa Tullett, 40, was upset the social networking giant took
the view the image could cause offence to others and her account
had been closed down.
The mother-of-four, had been posting photos to chart her
progress after a double mastectomy, when she was diagnosed with an
aggressive form of the disease two years ago, as exclusively
revealed in Friday's edition of Medway Messenger.
Melissa took comfort in sharing her progress with friends and
family members by posting updates in her fight against the disease
on Facebook.
This meant uploading pictures of key moments in her recovery -
including after she underwent her surgery.
She received an email from administrators saying she must delete
the photo, which showed her newly reconstructed breasts, onto which
surgeons had tattooed nipples.
She said: "I had to agree as I wanted to keep my
profile as it has all the history of my ordeal on it.
"I took it down and my account was still there, but later when I
logged back on it had been deactivated again.
"I felt bullied and picked on. It really upset me, I'm really
impressed with the way my breasts look now.
"I think my breasts look fabulous. The photo is not
offensive."
Her husband had even set up a Facebook group, calling for the
account to be reactivated and about 1,000 people signed up to
it.
Less than 24-hours after the Medway Messenger contacted the
social networking site, administrators decided reactivate her
account.
In a statement from the internet giant said Melissa's picture
broke their rules as it contained nudity, and although they
appreciate she was posting it to celebrate her recovery, their
rules have to be applied equally, fairly and across the board.
Melissa added: "I'm so happy my account has been reactivated,
I've now got all the history back of my fight with cancer.
"It's a shame I can't keep the photo up, I still do think it's
offensive in anyway, but can't thanks the Medway Messenger enough
for highlighting my story.
A Facebook spokesperson added: "With over 500 million people
using Facebook we have to put in place a set of universal
guidelines that respect the views of a wide range of people.
"These policies are designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe,
secure and trusted environment for everyone on Facebook, including
children over the age of 13.
"As a result, nudity is not allowed.
"The image was removed because it contains what we categorise as
nudity - not because of the nature of the nudity in question.
"We have now reinstated Melissa's profile, as the content has
been removed."
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03/03/11
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