Facebook permanently bans EDL, Britain First and BNP for being ‘dangerous’

Users will be kicked off the social media platform if they support far-right groups

Facebook has permanently banned several far-right groups from its platform under its "dangerous individuals and organisations" policy. Several individuals and organisations, including the BNP, Britain First and the English Defence League. Supporting the groups is now also against the site's community guidelines. As of midday Thursday, the ban affects more than just hate organisations, users coordinating support for the groups will now be banned, as well as posts and other content "expressing praise or support" for them. [caption id="attachment_228342" align="alignnone" width="2048"] The ban includes Britain First leader Paul Golding and his former deputy Jayda Fransen (Credit: Charles McQuillan)[/caption] In a statement, Facebook said: "Individuals and organisations who spread hate, or attack or call for the exclusion of others on the basis of who they are, have no place on Facebook. Under our dangerous individuals and organisations policy, we ban those who proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence. "The individuals and organisations we have banned today violate this policy, and they will no longer be allowed a presence on Facebook or Instagram. Posts and other content which expresses praise or support for these figures and groups will also be banned. Our work against organised hate is ongoing and we will continue to review individuals, organisations, pages, groups and content against our community standards." Knights Templar International, National Front and National Action have also been banned, as well as their leaders and spokespeople. Two months ago Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was also branded a dangerous individual. This type of ban is much harsher than those previously applied to Britain First as it prevents individuals from supporting the group too. Yesterday journalist Carole Cadwalladr gave a TED talk in Silicon Valley, attacking Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Google's co-founders and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. She decried the tech giants' total apathy toward the spread of hate through their platforms. https://twitter.com/TEDTalks/status/1118280949991714817