China blogger angered over losing Facebook account

The Associated Press | Wed, 03/09/2011 9:00 AM | World

Chinese blogger and activist Michael Anti wants to know why he is less worty of a Facebook account than company founder Mark Zuckerberg's dog.

Anti, a popular online commentator whose legal name is Zhao Jing, said in an interview Tuesday that his Facebook account was suddenly canceled in January. Company officials told him by e-mail that Facebook has a strict plicy against pseudonyms and that he must use the name issued on his government ID.

Anti argues that his professional identity as Michael Anti has been established for more than a decade, with published articles and essays.

Anti, a former journalist who has won fellowships at both Cambridge University nd Harvard University, said he set up his Facebook account in 2007. By locking him out of his account, Facebook has cut him off from a network of more than 1,000 academic and professional contacts who know him as Anti, he said.

"I'm really, really angry. I can't function using my Chinese name. Today, I fond out that Zuckerberg's dog has a Facebook account. My journalistic work and academic work is more real than a dog," he said.

Zuckerberg recently set up a Facebook page for "Beast," complete with photos and a profile. Unlike Anti's, however, the page for the puppy doesn't violate Facebook's policies beause it's not meant to be a personal profile page. Rather, it's a type of page reserved for businesses and public figures that fans can "like" and receive updates from on their own Facebook pages.

Facebook said it does not comment on individual accounts, but added that it believes a "real name culture'leads to more accountability and a safer and more trusted environment for people who use Facebook.

"This viewpoint has been developed by our own research and in consultation with a number of safety and child protection experts," Debbie Frost, Facebook's director of international communications and Publc policy, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Facebook said in an e-mail to Anti that the company has "tried to keep the rule simple and fair by saying personal profiles must always be set up in the real legal name of the individual concerned."

Dissidents in a variety of countries ave argued that Facebook's policy can endanger human rights activists and others if their identities become known.

Anti said there is a long tradition in China for writers and journalists to take pen names, partly as protection from retaliation from authorities. If Facebook requires the use of real names, that could potentially put Chinese citizens in danger, he said.

"For my fellow Chinese, this policy could easily help Chinese police identify them," he said.

It's not the first time Anti has had problems with an Internet site. In 2005, his blog on a Microsoft website was shut down by the company following pressure from Chinese officials. Microsoft's action led to a public outcry.

Facebook raises $1B more from non US investors

The Associated Press, New York | Sat, 01/22/2011 6:50 AM | Business

Facebook said Friday it has raised $1 billion from non-U.S. investors, which combined with an infusion from Goldman Sachs and Russia's Digital Sky Technologies in December, brings the haul from its latest round of funding to $1.5 billion.

The investments value the social networking site at $50 billion, more than the current market values of Yahoo Inc. or eBay Inc., but below those of Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc.

Facebook did not say Friday how it plans to spend the $1.5 billion. The company, which is based in Palo Alto, California, had the option to raise up to $1.5 billion from non-U.S. investors through Goldman, but limited the offering to $1 billion.

Spokesman Jonny Thaw declined to comment further on the decision to limit the offering, which was oversubscribed - meaning more people wanted in than got in. Earlier this week, Goldman said it was barring U.S. investors from taking part in the Facebook offering, citing widespread media coverage that could have violated securities guidelines that govern private placements.

The investments are in Facebook's Class A shares. The company's Class B shares, held by executives and early employees hold 10 times the voting power of the Class A stock.

Facebook created its dual-class stock structure in 2009 to give CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives control over the company. Google has a similar structure. As anticipated, Facebook also said it will start filing public financial reports by April 30, 2012.

While that doesn't technically mean an initial public stock offering, that is the most likely outcome because Facebook will have to make many of the same disclosures of a publicly traded company anyway.

The specific date for filing financial reports comes because the company expects to have more than 500 shareholders by the end of April this year. Once that happens, the Securities and Exchange Commission requires it to disclose its financial results and other details on a quarterly basis so that its investors are adequately informed. That requirement kicks in 120 days after the first fiscal year in which a company exceeds the 500 shareholder threshold.

Since Facebook's fiscal year ends Dec. 31, the latest possible date would be April 30, 2012. It was the 500-shareholder rule that prompted Google Inc. to go public in the summer of 2004.

If Facebook follows a similar timeline, its IPO could come during the summer of 2012.