New & Updated Resources on Facebook Privacy & Safety
/We recently had the exciting opportunity to collaborate with Facebook on their international roundtables on Women’s Online Safety and were able to participate in three of these events in Washington, DC, Hyderabad, India, and New York City. The roundtables featured leading voices from many of the nation’s gender based violence (GBV) organizations as well as government representatives from various countries.
The roundtables were devised to create space for GBV organizations to contribute to the broader conversation on how Facebook in particular can engage the voices of women and create a safer environment for women to use the platform without fear of harassment and threats. The goals of the roundtables were:
To share existing Facebook tools women can use to help with privacy and safety.
To share innovations Facebook is currently working on to improve the user experience.
To hear concerns from the field on what users are experiencing.
To create a network for GBV organizations to foster continuous conversations and provide a support structure for women users.
The roundtables included conversations around Facebook’s Real Name Policy. Facebook has strongly backed their long-standing policy for users to be authentically identified by their real names. This policy also minimizes the ability for abusers and perpetrators to hide behind fake accounts and increases the likelihood that abusers misusing the platform to harass, threaten, or stalk a person can be held accountable. The policy has received some push-back, however, and Facebook addressed the various steps they have taken to allow some flexibility for individuals who are going by a different name in their everyday lives than their legal name.
All of the meetings discussed counter speech, which is used to combat negative comments posted on an account. By using counter speech, users can ask their audiences to post positive comments and help manage some of the negative, threatening, and harassing comments they are receiving.
During the roundtables, Facebook and Safety Net introduced the new Guide to Staying Safe on Facebook. This guide is a condensed version of the Privacy & Safety on Facebook: A Guide for Survivors of Abuse, providing short and concise tips on privacy and safety settings. Both resources can be found in our Privacy & Safety on Facebook page of the blog.
The roundtables were an incredible success. We appreciate the opportunity Facebook provided for global GBV organizations to convene and share their concerns. We will continue to foster collaborations between technology companies, government organizations, and non-profits to help eradicate violence against women in all forms, including in online spaces. To learn more about the roundtables and all of the great topics discussed, visit #HerVoice. Also, check out our video series on Facebook Privacy, Security and Safety!
