The Seattle organization “We Need Queer Youth Space”, lead by Kyle Rapiñan, was seeking to get a space for queer youth, led by youth leaders. Recently, they organized a large meeting at Seattle Central Community College and had made fliers and stickers that they posted around town promoting the organization. They even invested $150 in Facebook ads to get more fans to their fanpage. Then Facebook came along and deleted their page claiming they had violated the Facebook Terms of Service.

The group pleaded for more information in an email to Facebook:

Our non-profit organization does not believe we have violated the terms of service. As an organization that is working to the betterment of LGBT and queer people, we have always been committed to non-violence and peaceful organizing.

Please let me know what term you are specifically referring to that we have supposedly violated. All of us at Queer Youth Space are confident that our page did not violate any of the terms or contain derogatory content and should therefore be reinstated.

We have paid over 150 dollars in Facebook advertising, and built our organization around this new media platform. Permanently deleting our “We Need Queer Seattle” page will have a major impact on our community-based organization and our fight for social justice.

The group posted the following response from Facebook:

Hello,

You created a page that has violated our Terms of Use. A Facebook page is a distinct presence used solely for business or promotional purposes. Among other things, pages that are hateful, threatening or obscene are not allowed. We also take down pages that attack an individual or group, or that are set up by an unauthorised individual. If your Page was removed for any of the above reasons, it will not be reinstated. Continued misuse of Facebook’s features could result in the permanent loss of your account.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit the Terms applicable to Facebook pages at http://www.facebook.com/terms_pages.php.

The Facebook Team

The group recently received a $5,000 grant from Pride Foundation for their cause but this represents a major setback in organizing. Their next event is on April 17 called “QYS Presents: Still Screaming” and can be found on, of all places, Facebook.

It looks like they have now dropped the “Mutiny” term from their group’s name. You can find their new fanpage here. They also have a website here.