Facebook and Instagram forbids firms from using data for surveillance
Top social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have blocked the companies from using their data for surveillance purposes.
A recent update to the social media’ s terms and conditions restricts the developers and the firms which build products that track and monitor users by using their data. The newly added privacy clause released by Facebook clearly states that companies cannot " use data obtained from us to provide tools that are used for surveillance.” The move will prevent private firms from abusing Facebook’ s user data.
The update comes after the platform found several companies had used its publicly available information to track its billions of users, which was a violation to existing Facebook policies.
Facebook has stated that they sought the help of organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union of California, Color of Change, and the Center for Media Justice, to bring public attention to the importance of protecting consumer data.
The move by the social giant was praised by all the organizations which had earlier helped Facebook with the campaign. A press release from ACLU has stated that “ it is crystal clear to all developers that Facebook and Instagram user data is off limits for surveillance.” Also, this move from Facebook may persuade other companies to establish similar policies to protect user data.
However, the Suggest to Friends feature does still appear for Admins and has been moved to the top right of your Page now in the Admins area. I have heard reports that, since the Page Upgrades, the form is very buggy and that the friends don’t always receive the invites. Hopefully this is being resolved. Keep an eye on Facebook’s Known Issues Page.
As a sidenote, I’ve never been a fan of the Suggest to Friends feature – except for having other people suggest your Page to their friends. Suggesting to your own friends doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, because your friends are already connected to you. You could just periodically @ tag your Page on your Profile and/or use the Share button and include an enticing incentive, not just “come and like my Page.” ?
To post as your Profile, click the Edit Page button > Your Settings > and make sure the Posting Preferences box is unchecked > click the Save Changes button. Then make sure you’re using Facebook as your Profile (Account > Switch back to your name). If you want to leave the default so you always post as your Page regardless of whether you’re viewing Facebook in Profile mode
If the username you want shows as not available (and when you go to pull up the URL, nothing comes up), you’ll need to contact Facebook directly. See this directory of forms. I have not yet found a form specifically for this request, but you could try a form like the one for intellectual property infringement.