Facebook shut-down Big Green Gathering group

south west | media and culture | news report Tuesday July 28, 2009 09:17 by adelayde

Following a message to the Big Green Gathering Facebook group members that as well as mentioning the closure of the Big Green also highlighted the suspician that the shutting down of the event had been a political move on the part of the police, under instructions from higher up the command chain, people then went to the Avon & Somerset Constabulary Facebook group page to complain, and the BGG group was subsequently shut down by Facebook.

The Big Green Gathering group, still in my groups list

A member of the Big Green Gathering today commented to one of the gathering's steering lists that they had messaged the Big Green Gathering Facebook group on the 27th July to inform them about the cancellation of the festival. The message included mention that that Chief Superintendent Paul Richards admitted to to a Big Green Gathering director that the decision to shut down the gathering was political and then confirmed to the Chair of the BGG that orders had come from the highest level. The message also mentioned that the police had prior knowledge of the intent to shut down the Big Green and that the inunction was a 'red herring'.

In the words of the the BGG member who posted the original message "lots of people then went to Avon and Somerset [Police] Facebook page, to complain"

Subsequently the BGG Facebook group has been suspended by Facebook. Currently if I look I can still see the group in my groups list, but when I click to view the group I get the message "We're sorry, this group is not available". The URL of the group should be http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gi...26656

It would appear that Facebook took the decision to shut down the group based on it's political content and probably due to its members then hassling another Facebook group, this may in part be due to a complaint from the Avon & Somerset Constabulary Facebook group, but there is no current evidence of this. Facebook's Terms and Conditions state that an account (or group) could be suspended if any user is "bullied, intimidated, or harassed" (see article 3.5 of http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/terms.php?ref=pf).

Whatever the reason, this may not be (as the conspiracy theorists might have it) a clear intention by the authorities with the cooperation of Facebook to stifle the voice of the Big Green and it's Facebook group members, but it is a clear indication as to why Facebook should not be depended on as a reliable tool for organising social movements or taking political action. Facebook is run by a private corporation that has it's own policies and is run for it's own private interests and IS NOT a free social news site, such as Indymedia. Facebook will make decisions such as the closing of this and other Facebook groups based on it's own interests and as such will therefore conspire against it's users.

I think this clearly highlights why although Facebook is a useful tool that can be used to keep in touch with your friends and share pictures of your sister's new born baby, and funny videos of puppies roller-skating, it cannot and should not be relied upon for political movements.

The result of the group being shut down is that the 'database' of members of that group is now not only lawfully owned and held by Facebook, but also now unavailable to the Big Green Gathering to use to contact its members: that's 1,350 members that can no longer be got in touch with.

Below is the full text of the message sent out to the Facebook group members:

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>>>>>

Sent: 27th July 2009
Subject: Big Green Gathering Shut Down "its political"

Big Green Gathering Shut Down

“It’s political” Chief Superintendent tells BGG Director

Chief Superintendent Paul Richards admitted to a Big Green Gathering Director that the decision to shut down the Big Green Gathering was political and confirmed to the Chair of the Big Green Gathering that orders had come from the highest level.

During a meeting today between the police and directors of the Big Green Gathering, the superintendent said the decision to shut down the BGG was taken over a week ago, confirming the statement from the BGG lawyer that the ‘injunction was a red herring.’

Directors from the BGG are horrified at this partisan interpretation of licencing law. Big Green Gathering Chair Brig Oubridge said, “At the multi-agency meeting on Thursday 23rd July, we were still negotiating with the police and the council under the genuine belief that things were progressing and we were continuing to spend money on infrastructure, wages and security. If they knew they were going to cancel the event, we can only conclude that this drive to increase expenditure appears to be a deliberate attempt to bankrupt the Big Green Gathering.

The injunction served on the Big Green Gathering was primarily addressing the fact that the Big Green Gathering did not obtain the necessary road closure despite the fact that the Highways Agency had previously indicated that this would be done.

The Big Green Gathering has been running an event since 1994 and never before has public safety been an issue. The BGG has an exemplary record on health and safety and crime levels have always been low for the number of people on site.

Despite the concerns over the behaviour of the Council and the Police, event organisers will work with them to ensure the safety of those at the premises and ensure that they leave the land in an orderly fashion. Brig concluded, “We are very aware of our responsibilities to those already on the site and very sad for all those who were coming to enjoy one of the most peaceful festivals in the UK.”

But is unavailable when I try to view it