Illawarra photographer Brad Chilby. Picture: SYLVIA LIBER
Illawarra landscape photographer Brad Chilby has had a Facebook stoush click into place after prompting the social networking community to take a critical look at its maker.
Facebook has restored the tools that allow Mr Chilby to share and tag his work after clearing him of accusations of spam or abuse, he says.
The social networking giant earlier suspended the tools after Mr Chilby’s photos – innocuous landscapes – were repeatedly flagged as abusive, or spam, by an unknown agitator.
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Mr Chilby said he had tried for more than two months to defend himself to Facebook using the scarce company contact information available, but he was ignored and then suspended.
Late on Thursday, after rousing about 200 sympathetic comments from his ‘‘friends’’ and appearing in an online story on ABC Illawarra, he said he received a call from a Facebook advertising manager, who apologised and soon restored his privileges.
‘‘He told me the ban had been lifted and they’re going to look into it further,’’ said Mr Chilby, who suspects he has been the target of a saboteur or internet troll.
‘‘If it was someone out there trying to do the wrong thing then I think they’ve obviously lost and my Facebook page has become stronger for it. It feels good to be able to share my photos again.’’