A Facebook group Indian Atheists Debate Corner has been blocked from being seen in India. Users in India simply get an error page when they try to access it. Facebook has not given any reason for the block nor has it cited any violation of its terms and conditions.

Rationalist activities in India have often been faced with numerous restrictions online/offline. Following a series of attacks on public intellectuals, most Indian Atheists have chosen to use social media as their 'safer' area for discussions. Specifically Facebook has been an integral part of this.

Yet, various religion related groups or pages are often subject to surprising restrictions. For example, the famous Facebook page God was hidden from public view in India without any explanation and was made visible again soon without any justification.

Similarly, the Facebook page Indian Atheists was subject to sudden restrictions and was later lifted after the mainstream media reported on the issue.

Being a vocal supporter of the power of free speech, we urge Facebook to uphold the values that it claims to represent.

We urge Facebook to do the following.

Remove unreasonable and arbitrary restrictions on Atheist groups and pages that do not violate your terms and conditions Better transparency over why such decisions are taken

If you feel strongly that people should have the right to express their thoughts, please sign this petition and share it along.