Facebook has outlined six steps with the aim of preventing abuse of information on the platform and putting in place stronger data protections rules to prevent future abuse
Following the Cambridge Analytica data breach, Facebook has announced that it will be cracking down on abuse of the platform and is putting together stronger protections in order to prevent future data misuse. In its newsroom post, the Facebook stated, “We’ve seen abuse of our platform and the misuse of people’s data, and we know we need to do more. We have a responsibility to everyone who uses Facebook to make sure their privacy is protected. That’s why we’re making changes to prevent abuse. We’re going to set a higher standard for how developers build on Facebook, what people should expect from them, and, most importantly, from us.” Facebook’s protections have been divided into six points.
The first is a review of the platform. Facebook notes that it will investigate all of the apps that had access to large amounts of information before it altered its platform to reduce data access. It says that it will conduct a full audit of any app with suspicious activity and developers who have misused personally identifiable information will be banned from the platform.
Facebook will also inform people about apps that have misused their data. It will be building a way for users to know if their data has been misused via the “thisisyourdigitallife” app. In the future, it will remove apps for misusing data and inform everyone who used it.
Further, the company will turn off user information access to any app that a user hasn’t used in the last three months. It will also reduce the data that an app can request without app review to include only name, profile photo, and email address. Requesting any other data will require Facebook’s approval.
On top of this, the company will encourage people to manage the apps that they use. They aim to do this by making the options to permit the data permitted to those apps more prominent and easier to manage. Facebook will also expand its bug bounty program so that people can also report to them if they find misuses of data by app developers.
“I started Facebook, and at the end of the day I'm responsible for what happens on our platform. I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect our community. While this specific issue involving Cambridge Analytica should no longer happen with new apps today, that doesn't change what happened in the past. We will learn from this experience to secure our platform further and make our community safer for everyone going forward,” Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg said in a post.
To recall, the Cambridge Analytica data breach that happened a few days back caused a massive uproar with users threatening to delete Facebook entirely. WhatsApp Co-Founder, Brian Acton also joined in, urging people to delete their accounts. To know more about how you can better manage your apps on Facebook, you can read our dedicated guide here. Thinking about deleting your account entirely? This guide will let you know how you can download all your photos and data before you pull the plug.
Follow Us
Digit NewsDesk
Digit News Desk writes news stories across a range of topics. Getting you news updates on the latest in the world of tech. View Full Profile
