Meta shuts down Elam social media pages amid free expression dispute

Meta Platforms shut down the official Facebook and Instagram pages of Elam following user complaints of hate speech, triggering a political and legal reaction from the party.

The action, which became public on Friday, was confirmed by reports in Alithia, with Elam saying it had received no prior warning before its social media presence was taken offline.

The party has since appealed to both the police and the communications commissioner, arguing that the decision restricts its right to political expression online.

Elam’s spokesman, Marios Pelekanos said the deactivation followed what he described as a series of coordinated complaints and amounted to “silencing a parliamentary political movement”.

“This is a violation of the right to free political expression, with a direct impact on public debate,” Pelekanos said, retorting that Elam is an elected party represented in both the House and the European parliament.

According to the party, a formal complaint was filed with the criminal investigation department (CID), with copies sent to the police chief, Themistos Arnaoutis, and the Communications Commissioner, regarding the deactivation of its pages on February 12.

The complaint calls for a full investigation into the incident, as well as the immediate restoration of the party’s accounts.

Elam argues that removing its official platforms deprives the public access to political information and could directly or indirectly influence the outcome of the upcoming general election in May.

“This silencing distorts public political debate,” the party said in its statement.

Meta has not publicly commented on the specific reasons for the shutdown of Elam’s accounts.