The hundred-page internal document published by the Intercept contains the names of over 4,000 organizations, political parties, and individuals that are flagged by the social media company as “dangerous.”
There are 16 mentions of groups and individuals affiliated with the PKK in the document, most notably the armed group itself and the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), as well as several other Kurdish organizations and individuals.
In an email interview with Rudaw, Facebook clarified their policy over who and why people ended up on the lists.
“We have rules prohibiting terrorists, hate groups or criminal organizations from using our platform and remove content that praises, represents or supports them whenever we find it,” a Facebook spokesperson told Rudaw, saying they have legal obligations related to US sanctions that guide their our Dangerous Organizations policies.
The social media mogul say it has over 350 specialists focused on implementing their policy.
“It should be noted that there is of course, no universal definition of terrorism among researchers, intra-government agencies, and certainly not between governments,” said the company spokesperson. “Our definitions were developed in close partnership with leading researchers and experts, and have a strong focus on off-platform instances of violence.”
Rudaw: Sakine Cansizs was assassinated in Paris in 2013. Why is she still in that list?
Facebook company spokesperson: Sakine Cansizs is a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK is designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. As we make clear in our Community Standards, under our Dangerous Individuals and Organisations policy, we do not allow entities designated by the United States government as foreign terrorist organisations (FTOs) or specially designated global terrorists (SDGTs) to use our platforms. Under this policy we also ban their leadership and prominent members. In addition, we do not allow content that praises, supports or represents designated individuals or groups, this includes historical figures.
Why so much focus on Kurdish individuals and entities both in Iraq and Turkey?
We have designated individuals and entities as terrorists all over the world, including organisations based in North America and Western Europe. Our definition of terrorism is public, detailed and was developed with significant input from outside experts and academics. Unlike some definitions of terrorism, our definition is agnostic to region, religion, political outlook or ideology -- it is based solely on organisational behaviour.
What would happen if a Facebook post related to those names appeared on the platform?
It depends on the context. Our policies are designed to allow people to discuss these groups and individuals neutrally -- to report on them and their activities, providing people clearly indicate their intent. However, we do not allow content that praises, supports or represents individuals or groups engaging in terrorist activity or organised hate. Facebook does not want violence organized or facilitated on its platform and the Dangerous Organisations and Individuals list is an effort to keep dangerous groups from doing that.
