Are photographs of a mother breast-feeding her child indecent? The social networking site Facebook has sparked a massive online debate — and protests — and after removing photos that expose too much of a mother’s breast.

Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said the website takes no action over most breast-feeding photos because they follow the site’s terms of use but others are removed to ensure the site remains safe and secure for all users, including children.

“Photos containing a fully exposed breast (as defined by showing the nipple or areola) do violate those terms (on obscene, pornographic or sexually explicit material) and may be removed,” he said in a statement.

“The photos we act upon are almost exclusively brought to our attention by other users who complain.”

But Facebook’s decision to ban some breast-feeding photos has angered some users, including U.S. mother Kelli Roman whose photograph of her feeding her daughter was removed by Facebook.

Hewlett-Packard Co. could be breaking U.S. trade sanctions by using a third-party distributor to sell printers in Iran, The Boston Globe reported Monday.

According to the newspaper, HP signed a distribution deal with a Dubai-based company called Redington Gulf in 1997, two years after the Clinton administration put sanctions on Iran.

And while Redington, as a foreign company, falls outside U.S. regulations, the Globe reported that there is evidence HP knew its equipment would end up circumventing U.S. law. For example, in 1999, HP’s Middle East manager at the time, Albrecht Ferling, was quoted as estimating that sales in Iran would grow 50 percent a year, the Globe reported.

David Shane, a spokesman for the company, would not say whether HP plans to stop sales of its printers in Iran. He said Monday that “HP has a policy of complete compliance with all U.S. export laws.”

Sales of printers and ink are critical for HP, contributing about half of the Palo Alto-based company’s operating profit.

According to the Globe, Redington has helped make HP’s printers extremely popular in Iran. The newspaper cited a 2007 poll conducted by a local news organization that estimated HP printers had captured 41 percent of the market there.