Facebook apologizes for suspending drag queens' profiles

Facebook apologizes for suspending drag queens' profiles
(Image credit: Stephen Lam/Stringer/Getty Images)

Facebook has clarified its "real-name policy" after facing backlash from LGBT Facebook users, who argued that the company allegedly forced people to use their "legal names" on their profiles, causing many drag queens' accounts to be suspended.

After meeting with LGBT activists on Wednesday, Facebook's chief product officer, Chris Cox, clarified the company's policy. "Our policy has never been to require everyone on Facebook to use their legal name," Cox stated. "The spirit of our policy is that everyone on Facebook uses the authentic name they use in real life." Those "authentic names" could include the names members of the LGBT community use in day-to-day life, even if they're not the same names on their birth certificates.

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.