Facebook building privacy-focussed social platform, says Zuckerberg
San Jose: Social networking giant Facebook Tuesday said it is committed to building a "privacy-focussed" social platform to ensure that conversations stay private, and that user data is secure across its products like Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram.
Speaking at its flagship event F8 here, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that there are privacy concerns related to its platform, but asserted that he remains committed to bringing in changes and "starting a new chapter".
"As the world gets bigger and more connected, we need that sense of intimacy more than ever. So that is why I believe the future is private. This is the next chapter for our services... We don't exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly. But I'm committed to doing this well and starting a new chapter for our product," he said.
More than 5,000 developers, creators and entrepreneurs from across the world are participating at this year's edition of F8 - Facebook's annual technology conference.
Facebook, which has drawn flak globally over instances of data breaches, is re-hauling its main platform as well as introducing new features across its family of apps.
Zuckerberg outlined that the vision is based on six principles - private interactions, encryption, reducing permanence, safety, interoperability and secure data storage - across features like private messaging, groups, payments, and even location sharing.
"...if we get this right, using all of these services is going to be a fundamentally different experience a few years from now. At the end of the day, it's not just about building new products, it's a major shift in how we run this company because we believe that for the future, people want a privacy-focussed social platform," he added.
He explained that the intention is to build in the tools that "we need to keep us safe from the beginning and prevent harm and we then are able to focus on all the good people are able to do both in private and in public, both the living room and the town squares".
Facebook, which counts India as among its biggest markets, has also been ramping up efforts to ensure that its platform aren't misused to spread misinformation.
As part of its efforts to bring in transparency as elections progress in India, Facebook has started providing details of political ads on its platform. It is also strengthening its team of fact checkers and deploying technology tools to flag fake news.
Ahead of the general elections, the Indian government had warned social media platforms of strong action if any attempt was made to influence the country's electoral process through undesirable means.
Talking about the changes being made, Zuckerberg Tuesday said a fresh design for the social networking platform is being rolled out globally.
Terming it 'FB5', Zuckerberg said the new design is simpler, faster, more immersive and puts communities at the centre. People will start seeing some of these updates in the Facebook app right away, and the new desktop site will come in the next few months.
It will also introduce a new feature 'Secret Crush' in Facebook Dating that is currently available in a few geographies. The new opt-in feature will allow users to discover potential matches within their own Facebook communities. He/she can select up to nine friends from their list and if any of these people (who also use Facebook Dating) puts the user's name in their own list, it will be a match.
Facebook Dating is currently available in Colombia, Thailand, Canada, Argentina, and Mexico, and is now being expanded to 14 new countries. This includes Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana, and Suriname.
The US-based company is also working on re-building the architecture of 'Messenger' from the ground up to be faster and lighter and it will begin to roll out later this year. Besides, it will also make it easier for businesses to connect with potential customers by adding lead generation templates to Ads Manager.
For WhatsApp - which has its biggest userbase in India- a new catalogue feature is being added for Business users to help small and medium enterprises using the platform to showcase their goods.
Zuckerberg said the payments feature on WhatsApp - currently being tested in India with about one million users - will be rolled out in some other countries by the end of the year.
The company will also start shipping two new virtual reality headsets — Oculus Quest (all-in-one VR gaming system) and Oculus Rift S — from May 21 with prices starting USD 399. A new Oculus for Business will be launched later this year.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ensure uninterrupted CCTV coverage of strongrooms: DMK to EC, after outage at Ooty
Chennai, Apr 29: Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK on Monday urged the Election Commission to ensure uninterrupted CCTV coverage of all strongrooms in the state and sought declaration of premises of storage of EVMs a "no-fly zone" for drones.
DMK Organisation Secretary R S Bharathi, in a memorandum, urged the poll panel to "ensure the CCTV coverage in all the strongrooms where EVMs are stored is not interrupted for whatsoever reasons including technical, electrical, electronical, among others."
Referring to the Closed Circuit Television cameras at the Government Polytechnic College in Udagamandalam (Ooty) going blank for 20 minutes (6.20 pm to 6.40 pm) on April 27, Bharathi requested uninterrupted coverage in his representation addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner and the Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu.
The DMK leader requested the authorities to declare the campuses that house EVMs in strongrooms as "no-fly zone" for drones.
The EVMs of Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency are stored in strongrooms on the Ooty polytechnic college premises.
Bharathi said the only way to monitor the secure state of strongrooms is through uninterrupted CCTV coverage, and urged that a backup of recorded video be preserved.
