Facebook removes Google+ ad

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A developer named Michael Lee Johnson recently decided to advertise his Google+ profile on Facebook. Unfortunately, it might not have panned out as well as Johnson had hoped. Johnson’s self-made advertisement, which said “If you’re lucky enough to have a Google+ account, add Michael Lee Johnson, Internet Geek, App Developer, Technological Virtuoso” under the headline “Add Michael to Google+”  was pulled by Facebook shortly after he posted it. Worse, Facebook took the matter so seriously that the social network banned all of Johnson’s other advertising campaigns. According to CNET the message from Facebook said:

Your account has been disabled. All of your adverts have been stopped and should not be run again on the site under any circumstances. Generally, we disable an account if too many of its adverts violate our Terms of Use or Advertising guidelines. Unfortunately we cannot provide you with the specific violations that have been deemed abusive. Please review our Terms of Use and Advertising guidelines if you have any further questions.”

Johnson told CNET that he’s considering taking legal action against Facebook for damage to his reputation and emotional distress. Hit the jump for a screenshot of his Facebook ad.

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68 Comments
  • anonon

    It sounds like Mark Zuckerberg didn’t wear his big boy panties this morning.

  • http://twitter.com/MattSTKC MattSTKC

    I love how when I like this I can only share with FB and Twitter. Disqus DISCRIMINATION?!?!?!?

  • Anonymous

    so what exactly was it that he did wrong? 

    • http://www.facebook.com/devhacker Patrick Van

      hmm lets see, put it this way if you owned a company and your customers started posting you competitors products hmm what would you do, smile and say it’s okay? seriously people need to think for a sec

  • Anonymous

    facebook and its management are just childish.  They have no sense of business, they are just children with a good idea and a lot of money.  

    • http://www.facebook.com/devhacker Patrick Van

      they’re a privately held company why would they willingly want there competitors product advertised on there site? Would you want that for your company?

      • Anonymous

        so google should remove all references to facebook right?  They should remove all references to Facebook on youtube, and gmail and everything else right?  I hope you don’t have a gmail account and hope to get your facebook messages.  Better still you better not use chrome and try to access facebook.  Or better further use an android phone and try to link to your facebook count.   And what does being a private company have to do with anything?  Further you are wrong.  Just because you don’t have the money to buy a portion of facebook does not mean its private.  It is not exchange traded but many high net worth individuals were offered a portion through a GS.  Further, there is a little problem with unfair competition and  antitrust law.  That’s why.  You know how microsoft was sued for not allowing or fully installing for people other browsers.  yeah those are a new things 

      • http://www.facebook.com/devhacker Patrick Van

        if they want they can. But it would be a PR nightmare for them… don’t act like google hasn’t done similar things. in the past they’ve favor search results to show there products at top and pushing the competitors down the list. 

        Microsoft was sued because the bullied 3rd party vendors and pc makers into only running there products and install microsoft stuff. FB is totally different. They run a small ad block on there site, they’re not forcing 3rd party vendors to do anything no are they changing how Google does business. To say FB is hurting Google and not allowing them to compete would be crazy. Google has a 50x large advertising system than FB and they’re a privately held company. 

        Microsoft was and is a publicly held company. That’s like me trying to sue you for not allowing me to post a porn ad on a website you may own. If you remove the company names out of the situation people would think clear and from a business stand point and understand what was done. But people are so Pro Google  or FB they can’t see past what’s actually going on.

        at the end of the day it’s just one random nobody being denied the ad he wanted to post. I’m going to go try and post a porn ad and then sue FB because it’s “unfair” when they remove it and block me from their site.

      • Anonymous

        I don’t know what happened to my longer post and I am not going to recreate it because its not worth the time to try to explain.  However in short, 1st. if you google ” search engine” google does not come up as even one of the top 5 results.  If you google ” web browser” Chrome does not come up.  So when does google put their products first?   That is just untrue.  2nd.  You are wrong about Microsoft, trust me I know from experience or just look it up.  Their were sued for not including netscape because the court felt it was too hard for people to have to download it or install it with a disc that came with the computer.  They “bullied” no one.  Again look it up.  3rd google is being hurt because they are being denied the right to advertise in a public forum.  More importantly the guy is being denied that right.  As a matter of law when a setting acts like a government entitly they must afford the same rights, ie due process.  If I had a website that was private it would not be the same because I would not be allowing any post and if I did I would have rules as all websites due in regards to that.  One of those rules may not single out my competitors because that is anticompetitive.  Does microsoft stop you from installing other webrowers in windows?  You do understand you don’t own your copy of windows, nor do you own any software on your computer for the most part, you license it.  That means its is the private property of Microsoft, yet they allow you to install competitor’s software.  Fact read that bit that comes before you push accept.  In fact that is why a xbox game is 59.99 and the windows version is 49.99. You own the xbox game you lease the windows game.  4th FB is not private, I said that once and I’ll say it again.  Because you like many others were not offered a seat at the taking when goldman and other private banks offered shares to its clients does not mean its private.  First it doesn’t matter if it was private competition laws still apply.  But to the point, FB shares traded at $50 in april last time I saw on the secondary market.  These are just facts.  Look them up if you choose to. 

  • socaller

    Are you kidding me?!? Him being pulled and the resulting flurry of press is WAY better than a FB ad…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BJKEIJHSXIGU5LXP6S6MLBKOGY Jessie Haley

    I paid $32.67 for a XBOX 360 and my mom got a 17 inch Toshiba laptop for $94.83 being delivered to our house tomorrow by FedEX. I will never again pay expensive retail prices at stores. I even sold a 46 inch HDTV to my boss for $650 and it only cost me $52.78 to get. Here is the website we using to get all this stuff, LiveCent.com

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jack-Kramer/1206232397 Jack Kramer

    FU CK Facebook in the FAce!!!!

  • http://twitter.com/rravindras Ryan

    He should definitely pursue legal action in this matter. 

    • http://www.facebook.com/devhacker Patrick Van

      for what? a private company removed his ad? he’s the one that blasted his business to cnet so if anything he ruined his own rep.

  • http://www.facebook.com/devhacker Patrick Van

    Legal actions? wtf… Facebook can deny any ad they want, it’s a privately held company. We all know G+ is in direct competition with FB and even if FB does not want to come out and say it, we know that was the reason and they have the right to. I operate websites and have removed competitor sites from my ad system. 

    People really need to lighten up and stop being sue happy. Demand to his rep? no one told him to go running to CNET to air his business and name. He’s the one demanding his open rep trying to get 15mins of online fame.

  • Anonymous

    Facebook is worried google will do the same thing to them that they did to Apple. And they should be.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZI2MBLPCWOEPZZ3PL3XBVGFSC4 Lance Henderson

    I paid
    $32.67 for a XBOX 360 and my mom got a 17 inch Toshiba laptop for $94.83 being
    delivered to our house tomorrow by FedEX. I will never again pay expensive
    retail prices at stores. I even sold a 46 inch HDTV to my boss for $650 and it
    only cost me $52.78 to get. Here is the website we using to get all this stuff,
    MetaCent .com

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