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29 March 2024

Facebook to 'control' easy information accessibility

More than 350 million people around the world use Facebook. (AP)

Published
By Vigyan Arya

Facebook is to suspend its regional networks and implement many other actions to contain the easy accessibility of information of its users, said its co-founder Mark Zuckerberg in an open letter on the Facebook home page.

The globally leading social network website that enables users to put all their information and pictures on the web for social reasons is criticised for making it too easy to access information not meant for public use.

In response, Facebook's owners initiated a process in July to streamline the functionality of the website that could make it easier for its users to contain access to their information.

However, to further convey their seriousness to the matter, Zuckerberg conveyed in the open letter posted on Tuesday that "since this update will remove regional networks and create some new settings, in the next couple of weeks we'll ask you to review and update your privacy settings. You'll see a message that will explain the changes and take you to a page where you can update your settings.

"When you're finished, we'll show you a confirmation page so you can make sure you chose the right settings for you. As always, once you're done you'll still be able to change your settings whenever you want".

While professionals from the information technology industry in the region have welcomed such a move, Facebook users are still wary of its implications.

Danish Farhan, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Xiche Digital, expressed his support to the move.

He said: "Facebook has consistently grown with the times and to the needs of its users. However, there have been certain instances where users have had a bad experience after posting data of very personal nature on their pages. This may not necessarily be the fault of Facebook, but as any responsible website or business, it's been developing tools to contain this problem."

Earlier, Facebook had introduced regional networks to contain this problem and these networks have grown into millions of users.

"We've concluded that this is no longer the best way for you to control your privacy. Almost 50 per cent of all Facebook users are members of regional networks, so this is an important issue for us. If we can build a better system, then more than 100 million people will have even more control of their information," said Zuckerberg in his open letter.

He said: "The plan we've come up with is to remove regional networks completely and create a simpler model for privacy control where you can set content to be available to only your friends, friends of your friends, or everyone."

A Sankar, an avid user of Facebook, was confident in the deliverable of Facebook.

"I have been using this networking tool since almost its inception, without any apprehensions or caution. If Facebook is working on introducing some additional tools, I am sure, it will only for the betterment of the website and will make it convenient and easy for its users to use," she said.

On the issue of confidentiality, she said: "Your social circle will read only what you want them to read and no one outside your social circle will have access to your personal information – however personal it may be. Having said that, what Facebook is constantly trying to achieve by means of containing accessibility is only to be appreciated and not taken as any indication of failure for the website."

Zuckerberg opened his letter with some figures stating the vast reach of Facebook, one of the fastest growing social websites.

"Thanks to your help, more than 350 million people around the world are using Facebook to share their lives online," he said.

However, Zuckerberg did accept that Facebook has some issues on privacy and information sharing.

"Facebook's current privacy model revolves around 'networks' – communities for your school, your company or your region. This worked well when Facebook was mostly used by students, since it made sense that a student might want to share content with their fellow students.

"We're adding something that many of you have asked for – the ability to control who sees each individual piece of content you create or upload. In addition, we'll also be fulfilling a request made by many of you to make the privacy settings page simpler by combining some settings. If you want to read more about this, we began discussing this plan back in July."

Emirates Business talked to more than 20 heavy users of Facebook and they all showed confidence in the platform and its development.

"I will continue to use Facebook and add almost a dozen friends on a daily basis," said Rajiv Aggarwal, an information technology engineer who works as a freelance software developer. He uses Facebook, along with Google, as the only marketing tools to promote his business.

In a conclusive statement, Zuckerberg said in the open letter: "We've worked hard to build controls that we think will be better for you, but we also understand that everyone's needs are different. We'll suggest settings for you based on your current level of privacy, but the best way for you to find the right settings is to read through all your options and customise them for yourself. I encourage you to do this and consider who you're sharing with online."

Facebook apparently has become "free cash flow positive" and by the end of the year it company's overall revenue is expected to be more than $550 million (Dh2.02 billion), as projected by the information technology industry.

Last year, the company brought in a total of between $280m and $300m, and for its future plans Facebook is going beyond traditional social network banner advertising to expand revenue.

 

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