Facebook Dances Around Holocaust Controversy

Facebook just can't seem to stay out of trouble. The social networking site has landed in hot water again, this time for refusing to shut down Holocaust denial groups. Facebook is reluctant to stop the Holocaust denial groups because the site wants to be "a place where people can discuss all kinds of ideas, including controversial ones," said Facebook spokesperson Barry Schnitt in an interview with CNN. Facebook is trying to "strike a very delicate balance" between freedom of speech while "also ensuring that individuals and groups of people do not feel threatened or endangered," Schnitt said in another interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Schnitt also told the JTA that users living in the 13 countries where Holocaust denial is illegal would be unable to access Holocaust denial groups on Facebook.

Facebook's reluctance to delete Holocaust denial groups is nothing new, but has come under heavy criticism in recent days. Brian Cuban, a lawyer and brother of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, recently published on his blog an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking him to shut down groups like "Holocaust: A series of lies," "Holocaust is a Holohoax" and "Holocaust is a myth." In his letter, Cuban argues "those who promote the fringe revisionist theory of Holocaust Denial" are inciting hatred, which is against Facebook's Terms of Service. According to Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities users may not "post content that is hateful, threatening, pornographic, or that contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence."

Facebook counters Cuban's argument by saying that while it finds Holocaust denial abhorrent, the groups do not cross the line from genocide denial to hatred. Schnitt pointed out that Facebook has in the past eliminated groups involved in hate speech such as "Isle of Man KKK," which was removed because it threatened violence against foreigners on the tiny island off the coast of England. Cuban dismisses Facebook's reasoning arguing "Holocaust Deniers are overwhelmingly antisemitic [sic]" and that you cannot separate the inherent racism of the group members from the group itself.

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