An unusual sight unfolded on Hanover Quay today: a group of parents gathered outside Facebook's European headquarters, a gaggle of toddlers dutifully holding onto mothers' coats with one hand and grasping protest signs with the other.
Protesters assembled at more than 30 locations worldwide to speak out against Facebook's removal policy regarding images of breastfeeding.
Irish protesters stood their ground for two hours to publicise that the social networking site is removing photos which are not actually violating of its terms. Moreover, parents urged that Facebook's censorship reflects a disturbing trend stigmatising breastfeeding in public.
"Some might ask why would a mother want to post a picture of herself breastfeeding on Facebook? And the only question I can ask you back is 'Why wouldn't she?'" said Chris Finn, representative from Ireland's Friends of Breastfeeding.
"We're here to stand up and say that our nation's attitude towards breastfeeding needs to change. Why? Because breastfeeding it just the biologically normal way to feed a baby and the only way to make a change is if we see breastfeeding," Ms Finn said.
Facebook states that it supports users posting pictures of breastfeeding, but will only allow pictures where baby is "actively engaged" in nursing.
The social networking site states that it may remove any content or images which violate their statement of rights and responsibilities. The terms prohibits nudity, as well as content that is sexually suggestive, hateful, threatening, pornographic, incites violence or contains graphic or gratuitous violence. Therefore, pictures which contain a fully exposed breast are deemed to violate those terms of user safety.
"These policies are based on the same standards that apply to television and print media. We agree that breastfeeding is natural and we are very glad to know that it is important for mothers, including the many mothers who work at Facebook, to share their experience with others on the site," the statement read.
With over 800 million users worldwide, and many of them as young as 13, Facebook maintains that it must impose certain limitations on nudity in the presence of minors, striking a balance with personal expression, "even though that is not always convenient or acceptable to all audiences."
In their statement, Facebook also stressed that almost all photos removed by their user operations team were reported to them by other users. The team, which is based in four different offices across the globe, monitors Facebook content 24 hours a day. When content is reported to the site, the team must review it solely based upon the statement of rights and responsibilities.
Due to the wide scope of this enforcement network, some protesters believe that many pictures are removed due to a flaw of Facebook's internal communication.
"I was in Mothercare and I was told I wasn't allowed to feed in there," said Gabrielle Ferguson Clarke, mother and protestor. "It was the staff that was not properly trained; management was horrified. I think it's the same issue with Facebook."