NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE
#MyNameIs
The Irish Times reported that Irish-language activist group Misneach is organising a protest at the social network’s Dublin headquarters over its real-name policy and the way it has been enforced against users opting to use their Irish-language names. The protest takes place at 2pm on October 7th at the company’s Grand Canal HQ.
In a statement Misneach stated:
“Facebook is changing the names of some Irish speakers to force them into using their “real names”. We demand a stop to this practice, particularly in light of the way the company uses the Twenty-Six County Irish state as a tax haven.”
The so-called ‘real-name’ policy requires users to prove their identity using either one form of official Government identification such as a birth certificate, a driver’s licence or else two matching non-government forms of identification.
A spokesperson for Misneach, said the policy affects many of those who choose to use their names in Irish later in life, but who do not have official documentation to prove the authenticity of their names.
Irish news website tuairisc.ie reported in July that Laoiseach Ní Choisdealbha, an Irish language officer at NUI Galway, had her account suspended by the company over the use of her name in Irish. The account was subsequently restored but only under the English language version of Ms Ní Choisdealbha’s name.
A petition #MyNameIs, set up by Misneach member Kerron Ó Luain two months ago, on change.org is calling on Facebook to change the policy. To date it has been signed by more than 600 people, Celtic League support would be welcome. Please take time to sign the petition.
Link to Misneach: https://www.facebook.com/misneach2012
* Misneach (Courage ) was ‘revived’ a few years ago and it now has three branches in Ireland based in Dublin, Galway and Belfast.
See Link:
The Misneach hunger strike, 1966
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=596485443772769&story_fbid=836735963081048
(This item submitted for Celtic News by the Irish branch)
BERNARD MOFFATT
Issued by: The Celtic News
16/09/15
THE CELTIC LEAGUE INFORMATION SERVICE
The Celtic League established in 1961 has branches in the six Celtic Countries. It promotes cooperation between the countries and campaigns on a range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights human rights abuse, military activity and socio-economic issues
Yahoo! Groups