Facebook, reeling from a scandal involving the misuse of 50m users’ private data, has moved to tighten up its privacy rules and make it easier for people to manage how their information is used and shared.
Reports earlier this month that a third party, the UK-based Cambridge Analytica, had used the data, in violation of Facebook’s rules, have prompted investigations by UK and US lawmakers and sent the social media company share price spiralling lower in recent days.
The data analysis firm used the data, apparently without Facebook’s knowledge and in contravention of its rules, to help US President Donald Trump win the 2016 election.
Now Facebook is moving to reassure users by making it easier for them to control how their information is used.
In a statement of Wednesday, the company’s chief privacy officer for privacy, Erin Egan, and its deputy general counsel, Ashlie Beringer, said the events of the past week have “showed how much more work we need to do to enforce our policies, and to help people understand how Facebook works and the choices they have over their data”.
“We’ve heard loud and clear that privacy settings and other important tools are too hard to find, and that we must do more to keep people informed.”
In addition to measures announced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week to crack down on the abuse of the Facebook platform, strengthening policies and making it easier to revoke third-party apps’ ability to use customer data, the company has announced a range of interventions that will be introduced in the coming weeks.
“Most of these updates have been in the works for some time, but the events of the past several days underscore their importance,” Egan and Beringer said.
New settings menu
The measures include making data settings and tools easier to find by redesigning the entire settings menu on mobile devices. Instead of having settings spread across nearly 20 different screens, they’re now accessible from a single place,” they said. “We’ve also cleaned up outdated settings so it’s clear what information can and can’t be shared with apps.”
Facebook is also introducing a new privacy shortcuts menu, making it easier to find information on privacy, security and advertising, offering “clearer explanations of how our controls work”.
The new privacy shortcuts allow users to make their accounts more secure as well as control their personal information and the ads they see. In addition, they can manage who sees their posts and profile information. “You own what you share on Facebook, and you can manage things like who sees your posts and the information you choose to include on your profile.”
A new tool, called Access Your Information, allows users to view and download what information they have shared with Facebook. “You can go here to delete anything from your timeline or profile that you no longer want on Facebook.
“We’re also making it easier to download the data you’ve shared with Facebook — it’s your data, after all. You can download a secure copy and even move it to another service. This includes photos you’ve uploaded, contacts you’ve added to your account, posts on your timeline and more.”
Lastly, Facebook intends updating its terms of service to make them easier to read and understand. It will update its data policy to “better spell out what data we collect and how we use it. These updates are about transparency, not about gaining new rights to collect, use, or share data.” — © 2018 NewsCentral Media
