Facebook re-instates Viz's page and apologises for unpublishing 'in error'
Facebook has re-instated Viz's official page after issuing the magazine with a ban for seemingly breaching its guidelines.
The social network backpedalled on the decision to unpublish the satirical comic's account, but did not reveal why it had decided to block the page.
The Dennis Publishing-owned title, best known for its parodies and risque language, heralded its return to the site with a status update saying: "They wouldn't tell us what we did, but we promise not to do it again, whatever it was."
We're back. They wouldn't tell us what we did, but we promise not to do it again, whatever it was.
Posted by Viz Comic on Tuesday, 16 February 2016
Viz took to Twitter to reveal the ban yesterday morning (17 February), revealing that it could have faced permanent removal if an appeal to bring back the page was unsuccessful.
The irreverent mag didn't seem all that phased by the move, and teased Facebook with a mock-up of a revamped page featuring flowers and baby animals asking: What do you think? Still too offensive?"
Commenting on the censorship, a Facebook spokesperson said: "We want Facebook to be a place where people can express their opinions and challenge ideas, including through satire and comedy.
"Upon further review we found that the Viz page had been removed in error. We have now restored it and would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused."
Viz turned to its longstanding 'Rude Kid' strip to assure viewers the incident wouldn't affect its tone.
Facebook have put our page back up, but rest assured we're not going to tone anything down. pic.twitter.com/7MwywY9WFo
— Viz Comic (@vizcomic) February 16, 2016