Where The Story Begins...

2008-04-15T21:22:00.000-04:00

Lauren Burk was a very close friend of mine. I am privileged to be able to say that. She was the kind of girl who had a bright future, and an even brighter smile. When some say "she lit up the room" it is ends up an exaggeration. In this case, it would perfectly describe her effect on others. Lauren really did brighten your day simply with her presence. She was a freshman at Auburn University and was about to finish up her first year. Tragically, she was stolen from us by a random mugger and attempted rapist. Lauren fought back and was in the process of running away before she was shot in the back. Her car was torched and Lauren ended up dying in the hospital shortly after. Her murderer was caught.

But this blog is not about her murderer, it is about the way Facebook has decided to handle her now memorialized profile. What many don't know is that when a user of Facebook dies, their profile goes into a "memorialized" state. What this means is that Facebook has "... a system for removing status updates, groups, contact information, photo comments and some other data." What we are trying to make Facebook realize is that this is censorship; plain and simple. And to make it worse, they are censoring the words of someone which might be precious to others. I know, for me personally, Lauren's last words to me were through Facebook. It hurts to have those words taken from me. I'm sure this situation is the same for many other people in mourning as well. To Facebook's credit, they were polite up until the very last email I got from them. To their discredit, they never gave me a reason for this censorship. The support team very tactfully avoided the reasons, even after repeated requests for their reasoning.

So in summary, Facebook has decided to not respect the sanctity of a loved ones last words by selectively censoring her remaining profile. I, as everyone should, am quite disappointed with Facebook's policy and, to a degree, quite angry with how they handled the situation.

I will included the entire transcript of the emails I had with Facebook's support team.

The Conversation

2008-04-15T21:21:00.002-04:00

It starts with a help request inside of Facebook. The conversation goes back and forth between the support team and myself.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message to Facebook-----
From: Austin Lawrence (*******@gmail.com)
To: info@facebook.com
Subject: PHOTOS: Photo comments

User id: 112047****
Description of problem: About a month ago, one of my close friends was murdered. Her profile is still active and we and her family wish to keep it that way. After she died, one photo that she frequently commented on, "http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30134816&l=332d0&id=1120471415"
was changed. For some reason, only I (the creator of the photo) can see her comments that she had previously left. We as a group absolutely need to be ables to see what she has written. There is no reason that her comments should be hidden, and frankly, her friends and family are very mad about the way facebook is treating this. I'm not sure if all of her comments are hidden, but this needs to be fixed as soon as possible. Thank you.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Austin,

We are very sorry to hear about your loss. Please respond with the full name and networks of the user in question and provide the URL to the group or its full name. Once we receive additional information, we will investigate further.

Thanks for contacting Facebook,

Emma
User Operations
Facebook
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Emma,

All of Lauren's friends greatly appreciate your help in fixing this issue and your promptness in reply. Here is her info.

Lauren Burk
ID - 1120470552

Networks
George Walton High School '07
Auburn '11
Atlanta, GA

The photo and comments in question
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30134816&id=1120471415
(it may pertain to more of her photos, this is the main one we would like fixed)

Thank You for helping us to see her words again. We really appreciate it.

-austin

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Austin,

Thank you for providing the URL to the photo. Unfortunately, however, when an account is memorialized, the memorialized user's comments on photos are only visible to the user who owns the photo. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this poses. Let us know if you have further questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Emma
User Operations
Facebook

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emma,

Wait, what?! "...memorialized user's comments on photos are only visible to the user who owns the photo." Please explain what possible purpose this could serve. The people closest to Lauren are directly requesting that her comments be made public again. The fact that Facebook would deny this is disrespectful of not only her, but to us as well. Her comments are part of her legacy, and many people are taking great offense that Facebook has decided to censor that. Her words are precious to us. If you can't help me resolve this issue, then I'm going to have to get in contact with a higher manager. I'm going to need either an email address or phone number of somebody else that I can talk to. I understand that you may be bound by policy, but this is just not right. Thank you for helping us.

-austin

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Austin,

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. We apologize for any frustration this memorial process may have caused for you. Please note that this policy is meant to honor and respect the privacy of deceased users. Because we cannot know what information people would like to have displayed publicly on Facebook posthumously, we have a system for removing status updates, groups, contact information, photo comments and some other data. We have carefully crafted this system to balance the needs of friends and families without exploiting the memory of the deceased. Unfortunately, we cannot restore this information even on a temporary basis and I apologize again for any inconvenience this may cause. I have escalated your concerns to the Legal team and to the User Operations team for further consideration and we appreciate your feedback on the issue. Be sure to let us know if you need anything else.

Thanks,

Zack

User Operations
Facebook

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Zack,

I really appreciate you trying to help out in this matter and I also thank you for passing this onto your Legal and User Operations team. If it is allowed, I would like to be able to be able to get in contact with a representative from those departments to explain the situation directly to them. I understand if that is against policy, but as you may imagine, this is a very delicate issue for all parties involved. Something that you must understand is, for some of us, her last words to us were through Facebook. Her words are precious to us, and some feel harmed that those words were censored. I only want to present our case directly to those involved in policy making process over at the Facebook team. Again, thank you for helping us out.

-austin

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Austin,

Thanks again for the response. We have noted this feedback and will consider this example as we move forward. Unfortunately, at this time the material cannot be restored. If you need any further assistance, be sure to let us know.

Thanks,

Zack
User Operations
Facebook

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Zach,

Ok, so I appreciate that you have elevated the report of this situation, but I never got an answer as to why some of her information was removed. You may say that it is policy for a memorialize page to be censored, but for what purpose? It is hurtful to us that her last words to some of her friends were removed by none of our consent. Censorship is defined as, "...the removal or withholding of information from the public by a controlling group or body." I'm sure that you would agree that this applies to our situation. I can agree that some censorship is required, but in this situation, it is not. This ongoing issue is becoming very offensive to not only myself, but to many other Facebook users as well. From our perspective, it seems that Facebook chooses not to respect the memory of the dead.
I know that you are trying to close this issue with me, but I won't just leave it at, "We have noted this feedback and will consider this example as we move forward." Your email brings up another point. When you said, "...the material cannot be restored..." is it can not, or will not? There are differences between them.
So far, both I and the Facebook Support Team have been very respectful and understanding of each others situations. But I need to be able to get in contact with the Facebook policy makers. It seems that they are the only ones who can help me. I will not let this matter turn into a footnote consideration which will, in all likeliness, be completely rebuffed. I'm trying to be calm and understanding, but as you may imagine, my frustration is building. The only thing for you to do to satisfy me is if I can be in contact with your Policy Making team to be able to discuss the issue directly. Please appeal this situation with a higher manager to see if you we can work out this extenuating circumstance. Thank you for your help.

-austin

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Austin,

Thanks again for the response. Please note that I, as an individual, did assist with the creation of this policy and process. Facebook is in a difficult position when it comes to deceased users; we are the caretakers and shepherds of content for people who have passed away and no longer can voice their opinions. And while current users may have strong arguments about what should or should not be displayed, ultimately it is we at Facebook who control this content.

We have heard loud and clear your insistence that these photo comments should be left in the public domain. Unfortunately, at this time it is not technically possible to restore the material and in fact, myself and other individuals who developed the memorialization process beside me, simply do not agree with your argument. So please know that we have taken your feelings into consideration, but no changes will be made to our policy at this time. Please consider this the end of our correspondence.

Thanks,

Zack
User Operations
Facebook

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that is where Facebook slammed the door in our faces. By them saying "...noted this feedback and will consider this example as we move forward" ended up being total B.S by Zack having said "...simply do not agree with your argument." So in the end, Facebook decides not to respect a dead woman's last words to her friends and gives no reason why.

Links

2008-04-15T18:23:00.001-04:00

I have included some links to several places related to the death of Lauren Burke.

Lauren Burke Memorial page -
http://laurenburkmemorial.com/

RIP Lauren Facebook Group -
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8932799634

The photo that started this whole thing -
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30134816&l=332d0&id=1120471415
(notice there are no comments from her)

Soon there will be a link to the entirety of her saved comments on the picture page that started this.

The Actual Picture Thread

2008-04-14T14:33:00.004-04:00

Ok guys, this is a backup copy of the entire thread. It is not hosted through Facebook, so it's not going anywhere.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

If you can't see the Facebook page, click here.

Facebook Disrespects The Dead

Where The Story Begins...

The Conversation

Links

The Actual Picture Thread