Facebook will trigger an alert if more users report a hazard – Le Figaro

The “Safety Check”, a feature that allows a user to report security in the context of a disaster, is now community. At the risk of drifting.

This is a feature of Facebook a lot of French people have discovered the night of the attacks on the 13 November 2015. A small notification entitled “control of no harm” appeared on the screens of millions of users of the social network residing in the paris region. In two clicks, they were able to prevent their friends that they were safe. Initially thought to natural disasters, it was the first time that Facebook was used the tool “Safety Check” for a case of terrorism. Until then, the social network was the only one to decide when to trigger this tool. Since Thursday, any user of Facebook can report itself to be a danger to your surroundings, rather than waiting for the reaction of the american company.

In its new version, the Safety Check can be initiated after several users posted a status about a difficult event around them. For example, if many people speak of a fire in Reims, a message is displayed to ask if they are safe. If this is the case, they will be invited to ask the same thing of their friends lived in the area. “We believe that the people closest to a disaster should play a more important role in the triggering of the Safety Check,” explains Naomi Gleit, vice-president of Facebook. The social network also announced the upcoming implementation of a platform dedicated to the organization of aid after a disaster, to help victims find shelter, transportation, food, etc, This new tool evokes the hashtag #PortesOuvertes used on Facebook and Twitter by users during the attacks in Paris and Nice.

This evolution of the Safety Check is a way for Facebook to respond to several criticisms. Since its engagement to the terrorist attacks in Paris, the social network has been accused of ignoring other disasters. A bomb attack hit Beirut on November 12, 2015, the eve of the attack at the Bataclan, had been the subject of no Safety Check. Sometimes, Facebook has activated the device too late, as during the attacks of Brussels or of the bombing in Nice, where the people have waited several hours before being able to report in safety. By making the Safety Check, community, Facebook ensures that it can be triggered at any time and anywhere in the world, even if its teams on alert.

This decision has risks. The Safety Check is a powerful tool and that is not neutral. The idea of “danger” is not the same for all. In September, Facebook created controversy by firing the device at events in Charlotte (United States) after the death of Keith Scott, an African-American killed by a police officer. It was actually one of the first applications of the new Safety Check community. According to the social network, the tool had detected many articles worrying about these events, which have given rise to the establishment of a state of emergency for several days over the city, triggering automatically the sending of this notification. Some have criticized this decision, arguing that the protests had nothing to do with a terrorist attack or a natural disaster, and that the scheme perpetuated the cliché of the supposed violence of the african-american population.

Facebook has not explained how he intended to guard against “trolls”, these people who like to cause controversy online, or possible fraudulent uses of this new Safety Check, for example, by reporting a massive amount of a hazard that does not exist. Since the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, Facebook is criticized for its lack of responsibility in the face of the rise of false information or hate speech, including racist and islamophobic.