Facebook has added a few lines in their policy prohibiting developers the use of data for surveillance.
Facebook wrote on a post stating that they have updated Facebook and Instagram platform policies to state more clearly that “developers cannot use data obtained from us to provide tools that are used for surveillance.”
“Our goal is to make our policy explicit…we want to be sure everyone understands the underlying policy and how to comply” wrote the post.
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter was under scrutiny from privacy advocates after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a report that police were using location data and other user information to spy on protesters, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. It was revealed that Geofeedia, a data tracking startup which exploits social media data to work with law enforcement.
Rob Sherman, Deputy Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook, wrote on the post “Over the past several months we have taken enforcement action against developers who created and marketed tools meant for surveillance, in violation of our existing policies.”
Sherman wrote that Facebook is “committed to building a community where people can feel safe making their voices heard. Our approach involves making careful decisions every day about how we use and protect data at Facebook. We also adopt policies that limit how developers, advertisers, and others can use our platform.”
It was noted that this update in policy was made with the input from American Civil Liberties Union of California, Color of Change, and the Center for Media Justice, “who worked with us for the past several months on this update and have helped bring public attention to this important issue while advocating for positive change.”
