Facebook is serious about its profile TOS

by peggyd • September 23rd • 3 comments

Have you been trying to fly under the Facebook radar and avoid setting up a Page?

I just was reminded by a client that Facebook is serious about shutting down profiles that are not real people.  This means if you are flying under the radar using a personal profile for your business instead of setting up a business page, your account is at risk of being shut down by the Facebook patrol.

And just because you are a non-profit, don’t expect Facebook to go easy on you.  One of my clients a local (small) nonprofit just got shut down by the Facebook police.  If you have been thinking you are too small for Facebook to notice.  Think again.  And don’t wait to be caught.  It’s worth your while to set up a business page now and start migrating people to it before you are forced to.

Because even if you beg for clemency, the Facebook patrol will only give you a three week window to amend your ways before they shut you down for good.

Here’s a copy of an email Facebook sent my client when they begged to be reactivated:

Hi,

After reviewing the situation, we have temporarily reactivated your account. Unfortunately, the profile held under this email address is being used to maintain a Facebook presence for a brand, business, group, or organization. Facebook profiles are intended to represent individuals only, and it is a violation of our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities to use Profiles to represent any other entities.

As a result, we have scheduled the profile under this email address to be permanently unavailable after three weeks. If this account is used solely to maintain a Page, please add your separate, personal profile as an admin to the Page in question or add other admins to the Page. To add admins to a Page, follow the instructions below:

[http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=15188].

If you do not have a personal profile, you may create one by going to http://www.facebook.com/.

Keep in mind:

  • Pages must have admins who have personal profiles on Facebook.
  • You may only create a Page if you are an official representative of the entity in question.
  • Pages may have more than one admin.
  • The admins’ personal information is not published to fans of the Page and they cannot gain access to your personal information.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer further support for this issue. If you have additional questions regarding Facebook products and features, feel free to visit our Help Center at the following address:

http://www.facebook.com/help.php

Thanks for contacting Facebook,

Josephine

User Operations

Facebook

Have you been thinking you are too small to be noticed?  Think again.  Can you afford to start over?  Why not follow Facebook’s terms of service in the first place!

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  • Kathymschwartz

    Do you have a link to where Facebook outlines this requirement? I can’t find it in their TOS?

    • http://www.freerangemom.com Freerangemom

      Here’s the link:

      http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=168617716530627

      And a copy of the relevant text:

      Profiles (timelines) represent individuals and must be held under an individual name, while Pages allow an organization, business, celebrity, or band to maintain a professional presence on Facebook. You may only create Facebook Pages to represent real organizations of which you are an authorized representative.
      In addition, Pages are managed by admins who have personal Facebook profiles (timelines). Pages are not separate Facebook accounts and do not have separate login information from your profile (timeline). They are merely different entities on our site, similar to how Groups and Events function. Once you have set up a Page within your profile (timeline), you may add other admins to help you manage this Page. People who choose to connect to your Page won’t be able to see that you are the Page admin or have any access to your personal account.