Facebook bans UK far-right groups

Facebook has permanently banned several British far-right groups and individuals for promoting hate and violence.

The British National Party (BNP), the English Defence League, the National Front and Britain First were removed from the social media platform and the Facebook-owned image sharing platform Instagram on Thursday.

Prominent members of the groups were also banned, including former BNP leader Nick Griffin and Britain First leaders Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen.

“Individuals and organisations who spread hate, or attack or call for the exclusion of others on the basis of who they are, have no place on Facebook,” said a spokesperson for the company.

“We ban those who proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence.”

The tech giant also said it would ban content that “expresses praise or support” for these individuals and groups.

The move came two months after Facebook designated the British far-right figure Tommy Robinson (Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) a “dangerous individual” and deleted his accounts.

In March, the company banned praise, support and representation of white nationalism on its social media platforms.

The announcement was welcomed by Yvette Cooper, a member of the UK‘s main opposition Labour Party, who described the action as “long overdue” and said social media firms needed to “take far-right extremism much more seriously”.

“All companies need to be accountable for the material they host or publish and take some responsibility. We all know the appalling consequences there can be if hateful, violent and illegal content is allowed to proliferate,” she said.