Facebook hosts ‘pop up’ privacy tutorial in New York City

Facebook set up a one-day “pop-up” event in New York City on Thursday to speak with users about the platform’s privacy settings, ad preferences and other possible concerns they might have following months of controversy surrounding the company’s data privacy policies and transparency.

Facebook employees and journalists outnumbered those coming to visit the pop-up, according to the Associated Press. Facebook has held similar events in Dubai, Dublin, London and Cologne, Germany, the AP noted.

{mosads}Users were prompted to ask questions and take brochures about the social media platform detailing the website’s privacy settings and ad preferences.

Erin Egan, Facebook’s chief privacy officer, told the outlet that users generally want to know who can see “their stuff” and how ads are targeted to them. She gave Facebook a “B” grade for its privacy work and said she looks forward to that mark improving.

Scrutiny over Facebook’s privacy protections first arose after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica had harvested the personal data of millions of Facebook users to be used for political purposes without their consent.

The company, last month, faced a global grilling over its data privacy policies and transparency at a special joint hearing before a United Kingdom House of Commons panel on digital media.  

Lawmakers tore into Facebook and slammed CEO Mark Zuckerberg for failing to appear before a parliamentary panel. That day, in the U.S., regulators appearing before a Senate committee were pressured to step up oversight of the company.