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By Becky Bruce and Courtney OrtonProvo, Utah -- A Provo woman is upset that Facebook, an online social networking site, took down a picture of her nursing her 9-month-old daughter. In fact, she just returned from California where she led a protest at Facebook's headquarters.
Heather Farley says there's nothing obscene about the photo she posted on Facebook a few of months ago. "It's a really large part of my life. That's how she eats," she said.
Farley says she was completely surprised when she got a message from Facebook telling her the picture had been removed because it violated the Terms of Use.
"When you breastfeed, the babies head is in the way. So, I was really, I wouldn't have put up anything that I thought was obscene to anybody," Farley said.
Facebook stands by its decision to remove the photo and issued a statement via e-mail. It says, in part: "We take no action on the vast majority of breastfeeding photos ... because they follow the Terms of Use. Photos containing a fully-exposed breast ... do violate those Terms and may be removed." [Click here to read the entire statement from Facebook]
But Farley said, "It's really important to me. I'd like to share that with people. I would hope that it encourages other moms to breastfeed."
She isn't the only one who feels that way. Over the Christmas holiday, Farley organized a "nurse-in" at Facebook's Palo Alto headquarters. "On the same day [Dec. 27], over 11,000 people changed their profile pictures on Facebook to be a picture of either themselves or a stock photo of someone nursing," Farley said.
Thousands of nursing mothers have also formed a group on the social networking site called "Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is not Obscene." As of right now, partly because of Farley's campaign, there are more than 87,000 members.
"Part of it is my baby's right. She gets hot. She's always been really sensitive to temperature. It's not fair that she would have to put a blanket over her head to eat when no one else does," Farley said.
Farley says she'll continue to use Facebook, as she has for the last four years, and she says she will follow the guidelines.
Facebook says its policy is designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe environment for all users, including children. It says photos are almost always removed because other users complain.
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
