Facebook Gives Users Greater Privacy Controls Ahead Of GDPR

Facebook is to offer new privacy tools to users and promises to be more transparent about what data it collects and how it is used to serve adverts ahead of the arrival of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May. 

GDPR gives EU citizens greater protection and control over their data, and significantly increases the fines that can be issued to organisations that break the law. 

The legal use of this data is critical to Facebook’s business and it has assembled “the largest team in company history” to ensure it is compliant. 

Facebook privacy 

A new Privacy Centre will bring all of the social network’s core privacy settings into a single repository, while notifications will be issued to user’s News Feeds to remind them to undertake a review of their settings. 

Educational videos will also be shared, giving advice on how to control the data that Facebook uses to serve up adverts on its platform and how to delete and review content or even an account. 

“We’re also developing resources that help other organizations build privacy into their services. For example, throughout 2018 we’re hosting workshops on data protection for small and medium businesses, beginning in Europe with a focus on the new General Data Protection Regulation,” said Erin Egan, chief privacy officer at Facebook. “ 

The new tools had been hinted at by COO Sheryl Sandberg last week and mark a change in attitude at Facebook, which has at times come under fire for how it handles personal information. 

Earlier this month CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged to ‘fix’ Facebook by ensuring users saw more posts from people rather than brands as it seeks to maintain an audience that is aging and posting less amid fierce competition from new services such as Snapchat and Instagram, the latter of which is of course owned by Facebook.  

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