The cancer survivor’s photo Facebook considers obscene
Feb 19, 2013, 5:48 PM | Updated: 6:50 pm
Facebook has made moms mad before by banning photos that show breastfeeding. Now they’re angering breast cancer survivors as they remove a photo of a woman’s tattooed chest.
Seattle artist Tina Baforo is behind the tattoo Inga Duncan Thornell had inked on her chest following a double mastectomy.
Thornell says it took one Sunday a month over two-and-a-half years to complete the design.
An Ontario-based tattoo company posted the image, featuring a colorful, intricate design that covers the woman the same way a sports bra would. Lee Roller says after he shared the picture it was removed because it violated Facebook’s rules on nudity.
The image has since been shared more than 122,000 times with more than 150,000 “likes.”
Facebook’s policy allows a little wiggle room on whether this kind of image would be considered obscene.
Although the social network states it has a strict policy against the sharing of pornographic content and any explicitly sexual content, “We aspire to respect people’s right to share content of personal importance, whether those are photos of a sculpture like Michelangelo’s David or family photos of a child breastfeeding.”
Many of the Facebook post’s 18,000 comments say there is nothing offensive about this.
“Beautiful,” writes Carma Marshall, “Thank God she is still with us to share this.”
While Facebook is making sure photos posted aren’t obscene, they’re also doing something taxpayers might consider outrageous.
Facebook reported 2012 U.S. profits of $1.1 billion, but didn’t have to give Uncle Sam any of it, according to Citizens for Tax Justice.
The public interest group breaks it down here, reporting that Facebook is the recipient of a free pass on federal and state income taxes for 2012.
Beyond not owing any taxes, Facebook will also actually receive net tax refunds of $429 million.
By LINDA THOMAS