Facebook has officially stopped software developers from using social network's data to create surveillance tools, this results in closing off the process exploited by the U.S. police departments to track the protestors in recent past.
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter came under scrutiny last year when American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that police were using location data and other user information to spy on protestors especially in places such as Ferguson and Missouri. In response, those three closed the access of Geofeedia, a Chicago-based data vendor which said it works with organisations to leverage social media.
Facebook's deputy chief privacy officer emphasized on goals of the company saying that company's goal is to make their policy explicit. This change would help people build a community where they can feel safe from every aspects and at the same time make their voices heard.
These spyings started when racially charged protests were taking place in the St.Louis suburb of Ferguson in the aftermath of August 2014 shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer. In 2015, an email message had a Geofeedia employee touting its great success covering the protests down there.
Representatives of Geofeedia could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday. The company worked with almost 500 law enforcement agencies. The company was committed to privacy and would work to build on civil rights protections, Geofeedia Chief Executive Officer Phil Harris said last October.
Some of the major social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube have taken their actions or have implemented their policies just like Facebook. It was pretty unclear as to how will companies assert their policies, said by executive director of Center for Media justice Malkia Cyril. It is a non-profit thing which opposes the government use of social media for surveillance.
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