Today, Safari Club International CEO W. Laird Hamberlin sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling for Facebook and Instagram to immediately halt the company’s deliberate and ongoing censorship of The Hunting Consortium Inc, a globally well-respected hunting consulting organization.
This past summer, SCI became aware of a specific incident involving The Hunting Consortium’s social media accounts wherein Facebook had, with no notice or explanation, deleted upwards of 1,000 photos and severely limited the ability of Facebook and Instagram users to interact with and/or share content related to The Hunting Consortium.
SCI, in partnership with The Hunting Consortium, has been attempting to contact Facebook about this issue since July but has yet to be given a response.
As a global operation conducting lawful business across many different countries, The Hunting Consortium relies heavily on social media to participate in a competitive industry. Facebook’s unexplained censorship of this company has not only had and will continue to have a negative impact on The Hunting Consortium’s business, but also poses a threat to hunters worldwide who use social media for personal or business reasons. Simply put, an attack on one hunter by this tech giant is an attack on the lifestyle and traditions we all love as outdoor sportsmen and women.
It is imperative that Facebook immediately reverse the restrictions placed on The Hunting Consortium’s accounts and respond to SCI’s inquires so that future incidents like these can be avoided on behalf of all hunters and anglers.
You can read the full letter below or view the PDF here.
