Facebook, the social networking Web site, says that it made a "mistake" with its censorship of a Sydney-based jeweler's pictures of a nude porcelain doll.

Victoria Buckley, who owns a high-end jewelry store in the Strand Arcade in George Street, was sent several warnings for "inappropriate content" last week. Both the censored and uncensored versions of the images were deleted from Facebook.

"We've investigated this further and determined that we made a mistake in removing these photos, said Facebook in a statement. "Our User Operations team reviews thousands of reported photos a day and may occasionally remove something that doesn't actually violate our policies. This is what happened here."

"While we believe the doll would benefit from clothing to protect her fair skin, we apologize for the mistake and encourage Victoria Buckley Jewellery to upload these photos again if they so choose," the company adds.

After receiving the apology from Facebook, Buckley criticized the Web site for its "opaque" and "arbitrary" moderation system. She says she worried that the marketing campaign she invested money into would be nullified by Facebook's harsh censorship.

"I'm delighted that Facebook has seen reason, and they are acknowledging that the images are acceptable," she said.

"I still haven't heard from Facebook directly. I would love to be able to repost my original images, but I'm concerned that a single complaint in the future might be grounds for closure."

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