Name: Facebook is opening five cafes which will offer free 'privacy checks'
Brand: metro.co.uk
SKU: metro-co-uk-1
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Facebook is opening five cafes which will offer free 'privacy checks'

preview

Facebook is about to open cafes around London and the UK designed to promote ‘privacy’.Anyone who visits Zuck’s coffee bars will be given a free ‘privacy checkup’ to check they’re not oversharing sensitive information with everyone on the internet.The pop-up shop will open inside The Attendant on Great Eastern Street and between August 28 and 29.Cafes will also open at sites across the UK including the Union Brew Lab Coffee Bar in Edinburgh.Steve Hatch, VP Facebook Northern Europe, said: ‘It’s normal to worry about who can see the things you share on social media, but not everyone knows what they can do about it.‘That’s why we have made customising your privacy settings on Facebook quick and easy.‘At our pop-up cafés you can get help and advice on how to change your privacy settings – and all in the time it takes to make a cup of coffee.’Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a privacy-focused’ vision for Facebook which heavily criticised by campaigners who claim it shows a ‘breathtakingly cavalier attitude towards child safety’.The Facebook supremo was savaged after unveiling plans to shift the social network’s focus to messaging services designed to serve as fortresses of privacy.Facebook wants to encourage people to have encrypted conversations that neither Facebook nor any other outsider can read.It also plans to let messages automatically disappear, a feature pioneered by its rival Snapchat that could limit the risks posed by a trail of permanent social media posts that hang around people’s necks for the rest of their lives.But the NSPCC fears this could make it more difficult for Facebook rooting out illegal or harmful content.Tony Stower, head of child safety online, said: ‘This demonstrates a breathtakingly cavalier attitude towards child safety. End to end encryption across all Facebook-owned messaging apps could hand groomers a largely unchecked ability to target children across multiple apps.‘The reason this is so serious is that Mark Zuckerberg openly admits that Facebook can’t access these messages to provide evidence to police in criminal cases.‘The only way forward is for tough regulation of social networks to force them to protect young users in the Wild West Web and face consequences if they fail.’Facebook has weathered more than two years of criticism over repeated privacy lapses, spreading disinformation, allowing Russian agents to conduct targeted propaganda campaigns and a rising tide of hate speech and abuse.To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatEncrypted conversations could alleviate some of those problems, but it could make others worse, one expert warned.Security is an ‘admirable goal’, said Forrester Research analyst Fatemeh Khatibloo.‘But I’m just not sure it addresses the bigger issues Facebook is facing right now,’ he added.Nonetheless, Mark Zuckerberg sees merit in allowing people to communicate more privately on Facebook than is currently possible.‘If you think about your life, you probably spend more time communicating privately than publicly,’ Zuck said.‘The overall opportunity here is a lot larger than what we have built in terms of Facebook and Instagram.’Big Zucker wants to offer Facebook users more privacy toolsFacebook’s focus on messaging privacy also raises other concerns.Messaging apps have helped fake news and rumours spread fast, sometimes with deadly consequences.In one particularly brutal example, the Indian government last year accused WhatsApp of fueling rumours that led to lynchings and mob violence that wounded dozens.Zuckerberg said that Facebook needs to protect both privacy and safety as it encrypted messaging services.However, he said there was an ‘inherent trade-off’ between security and safety, simply because Facebook won’t be able to read encrypted conversations.And in some cases, Facebook could allow some content to automatically disappear in a day or two.‘Some people want to store their messages forever and some people think having large collections of photos or messages is a liability as much as it is an asset,’ Zuckerberg added.‘Figuring out the balance is a really important one.’Not convinced?Get us in your feed

Facebook is about to open cafes around London and the UK designed to promote ‘privacy’.Anyone who visits Zuck’s coffee bars will be given a free ‘privacy checkup’ to check they’re not oversharing sensitive information with everyone on the internet.The pop-up shop will open inside The Attendant on Great Eastern Street and between August 28 and 29.Cafes will also open at sites across the UK including the Union Brew Lab Coffee Bar in Edinburgh.Steve Hatch, VP Facebook Northern Europe, said: ‘It’s normal to worry about who can see the things you share on social media, but not everyone knows...

public

Jasper Hamill

The Metro is the United Kingdom's highest-circulation, print newspaper. It is published in tabloid format by DMG Media. The free newspaper is distributed from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays and the period between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day inclusive) mornings on trains and buses, and at railway/Underground stations, airports and hospitals across selected urban areas of England, Wales and Scotland. Copies are also handed out to pedestrians. Metro is owned by Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT), part of the same media group as the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, but in some areas Metro operates as a franchise with a local newspaper publisher, rather than as a wholly owned concern.

Facebook is opening five cafes which will offer free 'privacy checks'

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS