Facebook Deletes Book Beat

UPDATE: On Monday Night, March 6, Facebook restored the Book Beat page (to our great relief) and sent us this letter;

“Hi, We’re reaching out to you about your Page, located at www.facebook.com/BookBeat. We had previously removed this Page after receiving a report that it violated Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Upon further review, we realized that this was an error and we’ve restored your Page to the site. We’re sorry for any confusion this may have caused you.” 

 

Here is how the page was first removed and what we did.  

On the afternoon of Friday, March 2nd, 2017, Facebook removed the Book Beat’s business website. Suddenly we lost over ten years of photographs, bookstore events, history, customer contacts, comments and posts we’ve made and shared with friends of the bookstore. The reason for our page removal cited by Facebook was for an “infringement of intellectual property” –the complaint was followed by a report # 1251702271587860 , Rights Owner: BookBeat AB and a contact email.

The instructions given by Facebook were to contact the person by email, because only that person could remove the complaint and restore our website. I explained we had incorporated as Book Beat LTD in 1982, and have had over 10 years of our history vanish on the Facebook page they had taken down.  The person behind the complaint as well as FB have not responded to any of our requests for comment.

After a little research, it became clear that the complaint against Book Beat represents an online Swedish digital-book company founded in 2015: BookBeat.com –a name familiar to us. In the past, we’ve tried to buy the rights to Bookbeat.com, once owned by an unscrupulous reseller of registered and parked URL names. They wanted thousands for the use of the URL, so we eventually settled on thebookbeat.com in the 1990s for our bookstore URL address.

Looking deeper into BookBeat.com, shows it to be a subsidiary owned by the Swedish Bonnier book group, a multi-million-dollar, multi-national with 9,000 employees worldwide. In an August 2016  story in Publisher’s  Weekly, the Bonnier group stated they would be taking an office on Park Avenue in New York City and begin a $100 million expansion into the United States book market.

Perhaps we can understand how Facebook could be persuaded to remove a small bookstore page after getting a request backed by the impressive Bonnier group. All letters and complaints to Facebook have gone unanswered or with a form letter: “Hi, It doesn’t look like we can help you with the problem you’re having here…” and a link back to their help center. We’ve sent a complaint to the Better Business Bureau but am sure Facebook will not try and mediate or get involved. That’s not FB policy.

Thanks to several good ideas from our customer Kathryn, we’ve begun a new and hopefully temporary Facebook page for our business:https://www.facebook.com/BookBeatbookstore/

We have also begun an inquiry through the legal system to defend the rights to our name, and regain access to our content, or have that content transferred to the new page. We didn’t want to make a new page but we were forced to do it.

We are asking our friends and customers to please follow and support us on the new page. We value your friendship and patronage, and will try and keep people updated from here and there in the future. Thank you.

Cary, Colleen, and the staff at Book Beat

PS As this incident was resolved and our page restored, we realized how compassionate and thoughtful this community is, and how many of you came to our aid quickly. The media was also there and exposed us to many more people than we could reach by ourselves. It was this overwhelming support and your combined voices that made Facebook quickly reconsider its decision.

Our page is back and is here: www.facebook.com/BookBeat.  

 

27 comments on “Facebook Deletes Book Beat
  1. Another reason to support local, independent businesses. A complaint to the Federal Communications Commision and the Federal Trade Commision should be made. May not do any good, but these agencies have some authority.

  2. Please let Mary and Louis White know if we can do anything to hel you restore your memories placed on FB Page
    I have my memories in my visits and your unique way of knowing just what needs to be read next
    We love the Book Beat

  3. We are with you in this fight.
    We are helping get the story seen — publicity will bring Facebook around to doing what is right, eventually. Hoping that day comes sooner than later.
    Keep us updated.
    And hang in there! Good will win.

    • I hope you’re right. I like the idea that “good will win” but in this new age of “alternative facts” it seems we are fighting “greed vs good” and its not been working out well. Thanks Ruth!

  4. You have helped me find books not only for me and my children, but my grandchildren as well. I am always amazed that you remember what they are interested in and give me the best recommendations! I stand with you and your amazing store!

  5. This is horrible!!!

    As an author and patron I will support you! What you do is bigger than any name. I don’t care what you are called, all I know is that I will be there.

  6. I have loved Book Beat for decades: your wonderful, broad supply of good books and your personal touch that all of us have relied on for so long.
    I am no longer a customer simply because I now live in Midtown and support the couple of bookstores here, and am 87 and don’t drive long distances that can be avoided. But Book Beat has always had a special place in my heart. If there is anything I can do from here – send a message to those awful ruthless capitalists who are responsible for this – or anything else, please let me know.

  7. I have loved Book Beat for decades: your wonderful, broad supply of good books and your personal touch that all of us have relied on for so long.
    I am no longer a customer simply because I now live in Midtown and support the couple of bookstores here. And I am 87 and don’t drive long distances that can be avoided. But Book Beat has always had a special place in my heart. If there is anything I can do from here – send a message to those awful ruthless capitalists who are responsible for this – or anything else, please let me know. I continue to practice Chomskian anarchism, pacifist style.

  8. 1982 vs. 2015? “Infringement of intellectual property?” Wow! And THEY’RE the ones complaining their name was stolen?

    I just got done posting a 1-star review on their Facebook page, as well as posting a link to this article in the comments under one of their postings. If they’re going to be bullies, at least let their (prospective) customers know it.

  9. The Book Beat is among the rarest of creatures, a book store that actually nourishes its stock and nurtures its customers. I never tire of browsing though sections of the store that I would ordinarily never venture into in a big box bookstore. I will always find something unique and worthy thanks to the personality and care that is supplied by Cary and Colleen. Thanks for many years of exemplary service to our communities.

  10. The Book Beat has supported our students throughout the years with book talks, author visits, and knowledge of literature. Thank you for being an authentic book store with a solid background of community service and support.

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