Facebook Selectively Collects Location Data On “Dangerous” Individuals

• A Facebook employee revealed that the social media company tracks data on individuals who threaten existing or former employees.
• According to the social media platform the list consists of hundreds of users of the platform.
• The company defended its actions stating they took the discretion to track users to protect their products and services.

According to a report by CNBC, Facebook takes advantage of its unparalleled power of private user data by tracking individuals who can be considered a threat. The social media company tracks commenters who make threatening remarks to other former Facebook employees. In some cases, the social media platform logs data by combining data from other services as well.

Called the “BOLO” list, it contains hundreds of names, and there are no specified guidelines when it comes to adding names to the list. It is up to Facebook’s discretion to decide who makes the list and who doesn’t. According to a statement by company spokesperson Anthony, it is the duty of the physical security team to keep all existing and past employees safe which is why such a measure is in place.

Harrison stated “We have strict processes designed to protect people’s privacy and adhere to all data privacy laws and Facebook’s terms of service. Any suggestion our onsite physical security team has overstepped is absolutely false.”

The BOLO list was first created in 2008, and Facebook started marking individuals. Even though former employees revealed the list contains hundreds of users, the actual numbers may be much higher. With the social media platform being involved in several controversies in the past two years including, the list is likely to have grown to thousands of users. The lists are said to contain personal information, general location data and also details on why they were added to the list. However, with recent legislation directing the company to change its data collection policies, the company may be no longer allowed to legally collect data on anyone without consent in some parts of the world.

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