Founder and CEO, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg announced on his official Facebook page this Wednesday the company’s decision to activate its “safety check” feature in Nigeria.
“Safety check” allows users “check-in” with family and friends during moments of crisis, informing them of their safety.
The company received huge backlash after the feature was enabled for the Paris attacks but not the Berut, Lebanon bomb blast the day before. Interestingly, this led many to wonder if the company was only concerned about Western security and protection.
The feature was enabled in Nigeria after the unfortunate bombing incident on Tuesday in Yola, which claimed the lives of 30, leaving a dozen severely wounded.
Here’s what Mark had to say on Facebook:
We’ve activated Safety Check again after the bombing in Nigeria this evening.
After the Paris attacks last week, we made the decision to use it. We’re now working quickly to develop criteria for the new policy and determine when and how this service can be most useful.
Unfortunately, these kinds of events are all too common, so I won’t post about all of them. A loss of human life anywhere is a tragedy, and we’re committed to doing our part to help people in more of these situations.
In times like this, it’s important to remind ourselves that despite the alarming frequency of these terrible events, violence is actually at an all-time low in history and continues to decline.
Deaths from war are lower than ever, murder rates are generally dropping around the world, and — although it’s hard to believe — even terrorist attacks are declining.
Please don’t let a small minority of extremists make you pessimistic about our future.
Every member of our community spreads empathy and understanding on a daily basis. We are all connecting the world together. And if we all do our part, then one day there may no longer be attacks like this.
What are your thoughts on the new development? Let us know in the comments section below.
Source: AlJazeera
