FB overhauls privacy settings

Company launches fresh effort to quell outcry over data breach

WASHINGTON: Facebook launched a fresh effort to quell the firestorm over the hijacking of personal data, once again unveiling new privacy tools and settings to give users more control over how their information is shared.

The new features follow fierce criticism of the social network giant after it was revealed that the personal data of tens of millions of users was harvested by a British firm linked to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The company acknowledged that it needed to “do more to keep people informed”, but said the changes have been “in the works for some time”.

“We’ve heard loud and clear that privacy settings and other important tools are too hard to find,” chief privacy officer Erin Egan and deputy general counsel Ashlie Beringer said in a blog post.

“We’re taking additional steps in the coming weeks to put people more in control of their privacy.”

The updates include easier access to Facebook’s user settings and tools to easily search for, download and delete personal data stored on the site used by two billion people.

Facebook said a new privacy shortcut menu will allow users to quickly increase account security, manage who can see their information and activity on the site, and control advertisements they see.

Facebook’s terms of service are being updated to improve transparency about how the site collects and uses information.

The social network said it is also shutting down “Partner Categories”, a feature which enables more precise targeting of ads by combining information from Facebook with data aggregated by outside companies such as Experian and Acxiom.

“This product enables third-party data providers to offer their targeting directly on Facebook,” product marketing director Graham Mudd said in a statement posted online.

“While this is common industry practice, we believe this step, winding down over the next six months, will help improve people’s privacy on Facebook.”