Saoradh legal action: Party representing dissident republicans challenges Facebook over removal of pages

A group representing dissident republicans has commenced legal action against Facebook, accusing the social media giant of political discrimination.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Jan 2019, 10:34 BST
Updated 7th Feb 2019, 19:47 BST
Saoradh's 'official Facebook page' for the Belfast area has more than 2,700 followersSaoradh's 'official Facebook page' for the Belfast area has more than 2,700 followers
Saoradh's 'official Facebook page' for the Belfast area has more than 2,700 followers

Saoradh, a far-left political party which has denied allegations that it is closely linked to the New IRA, claims some of its pages have been removed from the online platform.

According to a BBC report, Facebook confirmed that it had received a letter of complaint from lawyers acting for the party but declined to make any further comment.

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Saoradh claims the security service MI5 and the PSNI have exerted pressure on Facebook to remove the pages.

Solicitor Darragh MackinSolicitor Darragh Mackin
Solicitor Darragh Mackin

The BBC report says a Belfast-based law firm is seeking a court order in a bid to force the company to reinstate a number of Saoradh’s regional pages, which it claims have been removed over the past six months.

It quotes solicitor Darragh Mackin saying: “Facebook has now taken to remove what they deem to be unacceptable political messages, that sets a very, very dangerous precedent and it’s an attack, a deliberate attack, on the freedom of expression.

“Therefore our clients have no alternative but to seek injunctive relief to compel Facebook to uphold what is a very, very basic principle, the right to a political opinion and the right to expression.”

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The solicitor said his clients believed the police and MI5 put pressure on Facebook to remove the pages because the party represented the views of dissident republicans.

Asked to respond to that suggestion, a police spokesman said the “PSNI have no comment to make.”

The political party’s pages for Belfast, Armagh, Newry and several other areas were all live and seemed to be functioning as normal this morning.

The News Letter has contacted Facebook asking for a response on the matter.

Founded in 2016, Saoradh says its objective is to “effect an end to Britain’s illegal occupation of the six counties” and establish a 32-county Irish Socialist Republic.

Related topics:FacebookBBCBelfastPSNIIRAArmagh