Author: Reuters / Source: VentureBeat
(Reuters) — Facebook has adjusted privacy settings to give users more control over their information in a few taps, it said on Wednesday, after an outcry over a whistleblower’s allegations that members’ data was used to sway the 2016 U. S. election.
It put all the settings on one page and made it easier to change and more straightforward to stop apps using data. Until now changing settings had been complex, spread over at least 20 screens, which had frustrated users.
The world’s largest social network said in a blog post it had been working on the updates for some time but sped things up to appease users’ anger over how the company uses their data and as lawmakers around the globe called for strong regulation.
“Last week showed how much more work we need to do to enforce our policies and help people understand how Facebook works and the choices they have over their data,” Facebook wrote in the blog post on Wednesday.
Facebook’s shares were up 1.2 percent at $154 on Wednesday. They are still down almost 17 percent since March 16, when Facebook first acknowledged that user data had been improperly channeled via a third-party app to political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which was hired by Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
The data leak has raised investor concerns that any failure by big tech companies to protect privacy could deter advertisers — Facebook’s lifeblood — and lead to tougher regulation.
Analysts…
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