"According to Cox's statement, Facebook has never required people to use their legal name, merely the name they are known under."
Yeah, I call BS as well. A friend of mine got his FB profile taken down, and was explicitly asked to show some ID if he wanted to have his profile reactivated. He just discarded it and opened up a new one elsewhere.
So when I hear Cox saying "it isn't required", he's outright LYING. And yes, there are many reasons why someone would not use their real name and/or use alternative profiles, work stuff being the #1 reason. Every single company that has tried to force "Real Names Only" on users has seen those attempts backfire in a very bad way real quick. Anyone remember Blizzard's "Real ID" situation from a couple of years ago? Remember how that ended? Now try to do that on FB en masse, I'm pretty sure FB's "userbase" would deflate faster than the Hindenburg. It would be glorious!
Biting the hand that feeds IT
