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Facebook under fire for people-finder feature

Social media giant Facebook has come under fire after allowing users to mark themselves as “safe” during the Paris attacks, but ignoring other conflicts occurring elsewhere.

More than four million users took to Facebook confirm their wellbeing, after Friday’s devastating terrorist attacks in Paris which claimed the lives of up to 129 people.

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However, the limited use of the feature angered some users, who voiced concerns the social network had chosen to ignore other dangerous conflicts in the world.

“We’re really sad for what happened in Paris tonight but there is also a city capital named BEIRUT and was attacked yesterday from terrorist (sic) why facebook didn’t activated the safety check in Lebanon Mark Zuckerberg?” Wadih Constantine wrote in a comment.

Another user added:

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CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to complaints on his Facebook page, promising to include the feature in other human disasters in the future.

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Created in 2014, Safety Check allows users in the midst of conflict zones to mark themselves as “safe” and until Friday was used five times and limited to natural disasters.

Users can choose from three options, including “Safe”, “Unsafe,” or “Not in the area.” The information is generally displayed on the users profile but can also be shown using the “Nearby Friends” feature.

Following the Paris attacks, up to 360 million users received notifications that their Facebook friends were safe, according to the social network.

Facebook vice-president Alex Schultz said the company was still in the process of learning the “relatively new feature”.

“We will learn a lot from feedback on this launch. … We’re going to continue working to make [Safety Check] better and more useful,” he wrote.

“We want this tool to be available whenever and wherever it can help.”

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