Facebook bans EDL, Britain First and BNP from social network

Supporting many of the UK’s most prominent far-right groups will now see users kicked off the site

Facebook has banned some of the UK’s most high-profile far-right groups from its social network.

Britain First, the English Defence League, the British National Party and more will now be blocked from posting on the site.

Supporting the groups is also now against the site’s community guidelines, meaning users who post about them could be banned too.

Facebook said the decision was taken because it bans users who “proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence”.

“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. Under our dangerous individuals and organisations policy, we ban those who proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence,” Facebook said in a statement.

“The individuals and organisations we have banned today violate this policy, and they will no longer be allowed a presence on Facebook or Instagram. Posts and other content which expresses praise or support for these figures and groups will also be banned. Our work against organised hate is ongoing and we will continue to review individuals, organisations, pages, groups and content against our community standards.”

The banning measures are now in effect, and the organisations’ pages have been removed. Any new accounts they make will be removed too, even if they register as political parties.

The crackdown includes many of the most notorious far-right groups in the UK. The EDL, Britain First, Knights Templar International and the National Front have been banned, as well their leaders and spokespeople.

The new rules come as a variety of social networks have made efforts to limit the reach of far-right groups. Former EDL leader Tommy Robinson is permanently banned from Facebook and Instagram, and YouTube has restricted the reach of his videos.