Facebook briefly disables ‘Boycott BP’ page; oil giant says it had nothing to do with decision

Facebook briefly disables ‘Boycott BP’ page

HOUSTON — BP PLC says it had nothing to do with Facebook’s decision to briefly take down a page set up by users that advocates boycotting the oil giant over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

BP spokesman Toby Odone told The Associated Press on Tuesday that BP did not complain to Facebook about the “Boycott BP” page that had been set up using the popular social networking site.

An attorney for the advocacy group Public Citizen said in a statement that the page, which boasts nearly 23,000 monthly active users, was shut down late Monday and restored early Tuesday.

Facebook says its automated systems disabled the profile of the page’s administrator, which removed all the content that had been created. Facebook reinstated the content after determining the profile was mistakenly removed.