Group Kenya, one of the most popular Facebook pages in the country, has been suspended.

The page, which had at least 2.1 million followers, was deactivated on Monday, June 15.

It remains unclear why Group Kenya, a page brand which has been in existence for seven years, was suspended, though it is reported that several users filed complaints to Facebook about the page’s “Objectionable Content”, which contravenes the social media platform’s Community Standards.

Objectionable content, according to Facebook, includes: hate speech, violent and graphic content, adult nudity and sexual activity, sexual solicitation, and insensitive content.

The social networking site says it holds the rights of pulling down a page’s post(s) that flouts any of its Community Standards.

“People can report potentially violating content, including Pages, Groups, Profiles, individual content, and comments,” says Facebook.

“The consequences for violating our Community Standards vary depending on the severity of the violation and the person's history on the platform. For instance, we may warn someone for a first violation, but if they continue to violate our policies, we may restrict their ability to post on Facebook or disable their profile.”

Group Kenya, which has, on several occasions, been the avenue for Kenyans to engage in online wars with South Africans, Ugandans and Nigerians, has, on different times, been reported to Facebook for violating some of the Community Standards.

“We do not allow hate speech on Facebook because it creates an environment of intimidation and exclusion and in some cases may promote real-world violence,” says Facebook.

In some instances, the complainants lament about sexually-provocative images or messages on the page.

“We restrict the display of nudity or sexual activity because some people in our community may be sensitive to this type of content. Additionally, we default to removing sexual imagery to prevent the sharing of non-consensual or underage content,” says Facebook.

“We believe that all people are equal in dignity and rights. We expect that people will respect the dignity of others and not harass or degrade others…” adds the company’s policy on Objectionable Content.

K24 Digital has reached Facebook for comment in regard to the specific reasons why Group Kenya lost its profile.

This is the second time Group Kenya Facebook page has been suspended by Facebook.

In June 2017, the page lost its profile in unclear circumstances, but administrators of the page successfully regained control of it.

Nudity

Through an alternative page under the same name, Group Kenya has said Facebook “disabled” their page for violating policies on nudity.

“It is with heavy hearts that we confirm this information (that Group Kenya Facebook page has been suspended). The group was last night disabled by Facebook under claims of violating Facebook Community Guidelines on nudity,” said Group Kenya on Tuesday, June 16.

“We, however, do not agree with that assessment and have since appealed to have the group re-enabled.

“As we have for the past seven years, The Group Kenya Team remains committed to providing you avenues for discourse, discussions and difficult, sometimes even controversial conversations. We remain committed to upholding your freedoms to express yourself.

“It may not be easy to rebuild the community we have nurtured over the past seven years, all over again, but we dare try. We thank you all for being a part of our community. We will be back.”