On Aug. 1 Baltimore woman Korryn Gaines was shot and killed by police attempting to arrest her at Gaines' apartment.
During the incident, Gaines was recording video that she was posting to her Instagram account. However, at the request of the Baltimore Police Department, Instagram removed her videos and deactivated Gaines' account before entering her apartment by force. Instagram spokespeople have confirmed this.
Instagram is owned by Facebook.
Facebook, too, has been accused of intentionally censoring a video depicting the police shooting of Minnesota man Philando Castile.
Now, civil rights and anti-censorship activists, concerned by this apparent trend of collaboration between law enforcement and social media, are calling on Instagram and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to not only explain in detail how the decision to delete Gaines' account was arrived at, but also to institute a policy of transparency and guaranteed protected speech.
If you believe Facebook has a duty to address these pressing issues, then please consider adding your name to this petition!
Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,
We the undersigned have become concerned about what appears to be compliance with police-directed censorship requests on your popular social media platforms.
This follows a recent incident revolving a Baltimore woman, Korryn Gaines, who was fatally shot by police delivering an arrest warrant. During their confrontation, Gaines had been posting videos to her Instagram account but at the behest of the Baltimore Police Department, Instagram chose to both remove Gaines' videos and deactivate her account prior to her death.
Mr. Zuckerberg, we ask that you please clarify the process that lead to this decision; we also ask that you commit to a policy of transparency regarding Facebook and Instagram's stance on dealing with police requests for censorship.
In the past, you have made it plain that you respect social issues germane to these censorship concerns, namely the Black Lives Matter movement; please consider these requests as an extension.
Thank you,
The Undersigned
