Facebook promises steps to stop abuse of its services

San Francisco, May 2: Sensing the displeasure of its developer community over the controversies in which Facebook found itself embroiled in recent times, from the Cambridge Analytica data scandal to Russian meddling in the US presidential election, the social networking giant has now promised more steps to stop abuse of its services.

Delivering the keynote address on the inaugural day of the two-day F8 developers’ conference in San Jose on Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company was taking a broader view of its responsibility by not only giving people powerful tools, but also making sure those tools are used for good.

He promised new services that bring people together in meaningful new ways across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Oculus.

With a focus on building trust with the people who use its products, Facebook said it was making several important improvements to its policies and programmes for the developer community.

“We are re-opening our app review process after making some changes to make it more comprehensive and grounded on ensuring that each of our APIs creates value for people, is transparent and builds trust,” Facebook said in a statement.

Among the biggest announcements made on the first day of the conference was Facebook’s plans to build a “Clear History” privacy tool which will enable users to see the websites and apps that send information to Facebook when they use them.

The tool, Facebook said, will also enable the users to delete this information from their account, and turn off Facebook’s ability to store it. (IANS)