The fallout and accompanying controversy resulting from the revelation that Cambridge Analytica stealthily acquired information from upwards of 87 billion unsuspecting Facebook users shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Far from it, it seems that not a day goes by without some new piece of information which paints Facebook and company CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an unfavorable light.
Most recently, word surfaced that Facebook had deleted a number of messages Zuckerberg sent to individuals on the company’s Messenger platform. In a statement on the matter, Facebook explained that it did so as a means to “protect our executives’ communications”
And, as luck would have it, there’s no word (via TechCrunch) that Facebook — likely in an effort to make its actions with respect to Zuckerberg’s own messages not seem so peculiar — will soon allow any Facebook user to delete sent messages made via Messenger.
The aforementioned “unsend” feature has reportedly been in the works for a couple of months, with Facebook relaying the following to BGR.
We have discussed this feature several times. And people using our secret message feature in the encrypted version of Messenger have the ability to set a timer — and have their messages automatically deleted. We will now be making a broader delete message feature available. This may take some time. And until this feature is ready, we will no longer be deleting any executives’ messages. We should have done this sooner — and we’re sorry that we did not.
With Facebook still being hammered for its actions regarding user data and privacy, Zuckerberg is slated to testify before Congress this coming Tuesday.
