A medic tends to a man near the Boulevard des Filles-du-Calvaire after an attack in Paris, France, on Nov. 13, 2015. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Paris terrorist attacks made Facebook changed its policy on turning on its Safety Checks feature.
CBS reports that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained on Sunday why the social media site turned on the feature for Paris but not for other areas that similarly suffered from terror attacks. He writes, "Until yesterday, our policy was only to activate Safety Check for natural disasters ... We just changed this and now plan to activate Safety Check for more human disasters going forward as well."
In response to a comment on Facebook why the same support was given to victims of the Beirut twin bombing, Zuckerberg responds, "You are right there are many other important conflicts in the world ... We care about all people equally, and we will work hard to help people suffering in as many of these situations as we can," quotes Techcrunch.
According to Facebook Vice President of Growth Alex Schultz, the website created Safety Check in the aftermath of the March 2011 nuclear disaster and tsunami in Japan. It was also activated when an earthquake shook Nepal, Chile and Afghanistan, and when Typhoon Ruby battered the Philippines and Tropical Cyclone Pam the South Pacific.
The decision to activate the feature for the Paris attack was based on an observation of a lot of Facebook activities as events were unfolding. "In the middle of a complex, uncertain situation affecting many people, Facebook became a place where people were sharing information and looking to understand the condition of their loved ones," Schultz writes.
After Facebook talked with its employees on the ground, website officials felt there was need that Facebook could fill which led to the decision to activate the Safety Check feature for a man-made disaster. With the policy change, Schultz adds that the Safety Check tool would be available "whenever and wherever it can help."
