Rep. Castro’s Facebook pages taken down

Metro Manila, Philippines - Senatorial candidate and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro has denounced Meta, the company that operates Facebook, after her official pages on the social media platform were taken down.

In a statement on Monday, March 17, Castro described the incident as digital censorship and an attack on press freedom, noting that Meta has not given any explanation.

"This is a clear case of digital harassment and censorship. META is systematically silencing progressive voices that speak truth to power," she said.

"Ang aking Facebook page ay ginagamit para maghatid ng mahahalagang impormasyon sa ating mga kababayan, lalo na sa mga guro at kawani ng edukasyon. Ito ay plataporma para sa demokratikong diskurso at pagpapahayag ng mga hinaing ng mga marginalized sectors,” the congresswoman added.

[Translation: My Facebook page is being used to deliver vital information to our fellow Filipinos, especially to teachers and the education sector. It is a platform for democratic discourse and for voicing out the sentiments of the marginalized sectors.]

Castro said her first official Facebook page was taken down on Feb. 16 and the second one on March 15. The pages’ administrators had their personal accounts restricted.

The lawmaker demanded Meta to restore her pages and the accounts of her administrators and called for transparency in their content and moderation policies and appeal procedures.

Castro said she is planning to raise the issue in Congress.