Facebook Protest: Nissan and Nationwide Suspend Ads After Women's Groups Campaign

In response to accusations of condoning violence against women, a few companies have suspended advertisement revenue to Facebook, according to Bloomberg Buissnessweek.

Woman, Action, and the Media, a group that advocates for women, found the social networks dismissive responses to complaints made about offensive content inexcusable. Advertisers refused to continue business with Facebook until the matter is resolved

"In recent days, it has become clear that our systems to identify and remove hate speech have failed to work as effectively as we would like, particularly around issues of gender-based hate. We need to do better -- and we will," Facebook said in a bog posting.

The woman's group is accusing Facebook of containing "groups, pages, and images that condone or encourage rape or domestic violence or suggest that they are something to laugh or boast about."

Fearing their advertisements would be featured along side offensive content, a few companies have suspeded their ads. Nissan Motor Co. and Nationwide Building Company have withdrawn from advertising with Facebook. Both companies were lucrative to advertisement revenue for Facebook and their decision to suspend their advertisement has prompted the social site to take action to prevent offensive material from being shared.

"I don't think this will hurt Facebook because in the end I think advertisers are kind of understanding that things might appear in an online environment that are unsavory," said Chris Hirst, a CEO at Grey London, an advertisement agency.

The companies that have suspended their advertisements are not canceling their request indefinitely. The companies value the social site's platform and popularity and has vowed to provide the advertisements once Facebook has resolved the complaints placed before them and improved their systems for future prevention.

According to Businessweek, Zipcar Inc., Zappos.com Inc. and Unilevel Plc's Dove Brand has joined forces with Facebook to improve the sites ability to detect and report offensive content.