It is also against Facebook TOS to create or use browser extensions to alter the Facebook experience. This has been the rule for many years. The fact that this page and extension did not get banned sooner is the real story.
Advertisers didn't kill adblock, and they won't kill this. How much revenue and resources they lose before they accept this fact and adapt, is up to them.
Facebook basically would like to pretend the browser is something like a "trusted client" rather than an inherent unknown.
It's a thing that you do pretending it's for security but, of course, it doesn't work for security but does work reasonably well for the masses aiming to view their own data in the way they like it.
Facebook stands by banning Robert Scoble for downloading the emails of his friend from his account using a script. The difference between a "browser" and "script" is completely arbitrary in the world of bits and bytes but banning "upsupported browsers"
SF-guy can write his app, I can use it, and FB can delete his FB pages. No laws broken.
That was In response to "It is against Facebook tos to create or use extensions that alter the experience".
When you say "that doesn't make it legal", does that not imply you think something is illegal....? Regardless, I see from your comment that you weren't talking about the page removal, but rather going on a tangent about the legality / enforceability of the ban on creating and using extensions that alter Facebook (as opposed to banning pages n Facebook that promote these extensions). We're on total agreement on that.
The correct analogy would be:
Q) Am I forbidden from writing an application using the facebook API that tints/alters the color of the website?
A) Yes, you are forbidden from doing that.
This is quite unfair to you IMO...downright shameful of facebook to do this.
Facebook could be defining anything that blocks or interferes with their advertising and revenue stream as malware.
Anyway, I think it's silly for Facebook to be going after tools that make users like Facebook more, as long as they don't somehow degrade the experience for others (spamming, etc)
I suspect it has more to do with the fact that many of these tools strip ads.
Why isn't Comcast regulated like a utility? It definitely ought to be if we regulate Facebook.
good question.
Are Facebook really serious about stopping abuses of their system?