Facebook’s list of BOLO* users it sees as a threat

*shorthand for Be On the Look Out

FACEBOOK is tracking hundreds of users it believes could be a threat to the firm.

Whistleblowers said an internal BOLO (Be On the LookOut) list holds names and pictures of individuals it sees as a security concern – including aggrieved ex- staff.

Last year, when one Facebook user made a public threat against one of the company’s offices in Europe, he was put on the BOLO list.

‘He made a veiled threat that “Tomorrow everyone is going to pay” or something to that effect,’ a former Facebook security employee told US news channel CNBC. The message was flagged to Facebook and the firm used its range of apps to locate him, found he was near the office and alerted the authorities and its own security.

As well as its main social media site, the firm also owns the WhatsApp messaging service and Instagram, both of which come with location tracking elements. The bar to be added to the BOLO list can be low, the insiders claim, with writing something as simple as ‘F you Facebook’, said to be enough.

CNBC said it interviewed more than a dozen former Facebook security employees, some of whom questioned the ethics of what was portrayed as an unclearly defined practice at the social network. One former member of staff said it was ‘very Big Brother-esque’. The list is said to have been created in 2008 and Facebook’s security team is notified every time a name is added.

Facebook is adamant its security processes are designed to protect people’s privacy and adhere to data privacy laws, as well as the social network’s terms of service. All those on the list are said to pose a ‘credible threat’, it was claimed. Facebook spokesman Anthony Har- rison said: ‘Our physical security team exists to keep Facebook employees safe. They use industry-standard measures to assess and address credible threats of violence against our employees and our company, and refer these threats to law enforcement when necessary.

‘We have strict processes designed to protect people’s privacy and adhere to all data privacy laws and Facebook’s terms of service. Any suggestion our onsite physical security team has overstepped is absolutely false.’

Meanwhile, a report says Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are negotiating a ‘multibillion dollar’ fine over privacy lapses. The Washington Post said the fine would be the largest ever imposed on a tech company.

Facebook has had several high-profile privacy lapses in the past couple of years. At issue is whether Facebook is in violation of an agreement with the FTC promising to protect user privacy. Facebook and the FTC declined to comment.

Zuckered – Pages 44-45

‘Everyone is going to pay’