Makabayan senatorial candidate and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro strongly condemned META for unpublishing her official Facebook pages and restricting the personal accounts of page administrators, calling it a form of digital censorship and an attack on freedom of expression.
According to Teacher France Castro, her first official Facebook page was unpublished on February 16, 2025, followed by a second page that was also unpublished on March 15, 2025. The pages have been experiencing intermittent accessibility, appearing briefly before being unpublished again. Administrators of the pages have also had their personal accounts restricted.
“This is a clear case of digital harassment and censorship. META is systematically silencing progressive voices that speak truth to power,” Rep. Castro 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.”
Former ACT Teachers Partylist Representative and current nominee Antonio Tinio also condemned META’s actions, emphasizing that this is not an isolated incident but part of a larger pattern of suppression.
“We’ve seen this happen to numerous progressive organizations and individuals. Digital platforms like Facebook have become essential public spaces for discourse, and META has the responsibility to uphold free speech, not suppress it,” Tinio stated. “Nakakabahala na sa panahon ng fake news at disinformation, ang lehitimong boses ng mga progresibong mambabatas at organisasyon ang siyang pinapatahimik.”
Rep. Castro revealed that despite following standard appeals processes, META has provided no substantial explanation for the takedowns.
“We demand that META immediately restore our pages and the accounts of our administrators. We also call for transparency in their content moderation policies and appeal procedures,” Castro emphasized. “Hindi kami magpapatahimik. Patuloy kaming magsasalita para sa kapakanan ng mga guro, mag-aaral, at mamamayang Pilipino.”
The ACT Teachers Partylist has announced plans to raise this issue in Congress and explore legal remedies against what they describe as arbitrary and politically motivated censorship by the social media giant. #
