Brian Cuban Challenges Facebook: Never Or Never Again?

In the most recent entry of his blog, Brian Cuban (brother and attorney to Mav's owner Mark) offers up some food for thought -- as always.  Only this time, it's harder than usual to digest.

(Holocaust denial often is.)

Brian discusses Barack Obama's recent speech at a Holocaust Remembrance Day event. In the speech, Barack denounced Holocaust deniers saying, "To this day, there are those who insist the Holocaust never happened, who perpetrate every form of intolerance...We have an opportunity as well as an obligation to confront these scourges."

Enter Facebook.

Bro-Cube suggests that Facebook, which hosts a number of different Holocaust Denial groups, is one such perpetrator of intolerance (click on the below image to enlarge):

"There is no such thing as a 1st Amendment private right of free speech in the United States.  The belief that the 1st amendment protects speech in the private social media arena or at your place of employment is a common misconception.  The 1st Amendment only applies where there is federal government or state action.  Private companies such as Facebook are free to regulate speech however they see fit."

Enter Facebook terms of service.

The Facebook terms of service (TOS) state that users are not allowed to "upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available content that would constitute, encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party, or that would otherwise create liability or violate any local, state, national or international law.

True, Holocaust Denial is not a violation of U.S. law. However, Brian notes:

Holocaust Denial does not enjoy the same protection in other countries that it does in the United States.  The advocation of Holocaust Denial is a crime in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Israel, Slovakia and Switzerland.... Holocaust Denial is a crime in countries in which Facebook has an active presence.  Germany is an example.  Facebook in fact, has an independent presence/platform in Germany.  Facebook TOS would seem to prohibit content that violate the laws of the countries in which Facebook has a presence.

In the spirit of fairness, Brian figured that he would give the folks at Facebook an opportunity to defend themselves before writing his article. He sent them an e-mail on the subject in the hopes that they might be able to shed a little light on the situation.

Radio silence.

Brian concludes:

To date I have received no response to my email from anyone at Facebook. No action of any kind has been taken even if that action would be to simply explain the Facebook TOS to me and how it applies to such groups. There appears to be a humorous irony in Facebook's discretionary enforcement of its TOS.  Upload a copyrighted video. Remove it or you are gone.  Post someone's Facebook profile on a blog.  You are gone. Deny the Holocaust.  Have a field day.

Brian packs his final punch by writing:

It reminds me of a quote that is often seen in the context of the Holocaust: "All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing."  To Facebook: Thank you for doing nothing.

In your facebook.