Facebook Wants Its Users to Be Safe From Unwanted Contact

Anyone can be found online, but Facebook introduced new tools to help its users avoid people they don't want any contact with. Global head of safety Antigone Davis revealed the new features in a Newsroom post, saying that feedback from users and organizations that represent oft-harassed groups such as women and journalists was incorporated into their development. Davis said Facebook is expanding on its existing automated features that help stamp out fake accounts to help prevent unwanted friend requests and messages from new accounts that are established by blocked users, adding that the social network is using signals such as IP addresses to recognize those inauthentic accounts. She wrote, “We’ve heard stories from people who have blocked someone only to encounter the same harasser using a different account. In order to help prevent those bad encounters, we are building on existing features that prevent fake and inauthentic accounts on Facebook … We are now using various signals (like an IP address) to help us proactively recognize this type of account and prevent its owner from sending a message or friend request to the person who blocked the original account. The person who blocked the original account is in control, and must initiate contact with the new account in order for them to interact normally.” Facebook also introduced the ability for Messenger users to ignore conversations and automatically move them to their filtered messages folders without having to take the step of blocking the sender. Davis wrote, “If someone is being harassed, blocking the abuser sometimes prompts additional harassment, particularly offline. We’ve also heard from groups that work with survivors of domestic violence that being able to see messages is often a valuable tool to assess if there is risk of additional abuse.” Messages in the conversation can be read without the sender knowing, and Davis said the feature is currently available for one-on-one conversations, with group messages to be added soon. One of the organizations Facebook has been working with is the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and executive vice president Cindy Southworth—also founder of the Safety Net Technology Project—told Adweek, “Given that abusive partners isolate their victims, social media has the important potential to reconnect a survivor to their extended family and long-lost friends. Facebook’s new anti-harassment features provide more control to victims, who often receive death threats and unwanted contact from abusive ex-partners. I am especially pleased that a victim can access these new Facebook features without alerting an abusive ex, thus minimizing the risk of escalating violence.”

Social Pro Daily

Facebook Wants Its Users to Be Safe From Unwanted Contact

The social network is focusing on fake accounts and Messenger conversations

David Cohen

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David Cohen