Facebook ramps up efforts to monitor posts, provide user privacy in Ukraine

Facebook is ramping up efforts to monitor posts and provide users with an additional security feature in response to the military conflict in Ukraine, the company announced Thursday. 

Facebook established a Special Operations Center to respond in “real time” that is staffed by experts, including native speakers, to monitor and “act as fast as possible,” Facebook head of security Nathaniel Gleicher tweeted. 

The platform also launched a new feature in Ukraine that allows users to lock their profile to private “an extra layer of privacy and security,” he said. 

The social media giant has deployed the same tool in other situations, including Afghanistan in August. 

“This is a one-click tool for people in Ukraine to lock down their account by quickly applying existing privacy settings and new features. When their profile is locked, people who aren’t their friends can’t download or share their profile photo or see posts on their timeline,” Gleicher said. 

Facebook’s efforts come after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine early Thursday morning. 

World leaders, including President Biden, have condemned the attack and vowed to support Ukraine. 

Twitter also shared ways users can better “control” their account and digital information when using the platform in “conflict zones or other high-risk areas” in a thread of posts on Wednesday. The platform, however, did not appear to put in place any additional protocol in response to the ongoing conflict. 

The thread includes links to Twitter help pages with information about setting up two-factor authentication, deactivating accounts, and removing features that enabled Tweet locations in the past. 

The tweets were sent in both English and Ukrainian.