Why Facebook used Safety Check for the Paris terror attack

THE Paris terror attacks were the first time Facebook used its Safety Check feature for an event that was not a natural disaster. This is why they did it.

An illustration made with figurines set up in front of Facebook's homepage in image taken in Paris on 12/05/2012. Facebook, already assured of becoming one of the most valuable US firms when it goes public later this month, now must convince investors in the next two weeks that it is worth all the hype.

PUTTING its treasure trove of user data to good use, Facebook rolled out a widely used Safety Check feature in response to the terror attacks in Paris.

According to the social network, 4.1 million people marked themselves as safe using the feature within the first 24 hours. 360 million people were notified that their friends were safe.

Facebook users can check for the safety of their friends here.

The company created an early version of Safety Check in Tokyo during the Tsunami and nuclear disaster in 2011. Engineers at the company noticed that people were posting they were safe and wanted to make that easier.

Facebook initiated a safety check for those affected by the Paris terror attacks.

The company has only activated the tool a handful of times since then: after the recent earthquakes in Afghanistan, Chile and Nepal as well as Tropical Cyclone Pam in the South Pacific and Typhoon Ruby in the Philippines.

The Paris terror attacks were the first time the social network had used the feature for an event that was not a natural disaster.

“There has to be a first time for trying something new, even in complex and sensitive times, and for us that was Paris,” said Alex Schultz, Facebook’s vice president of growth.

“We chose to activate Safety Check in Paris because we observed a lot of activity on Facebook as the events were unfolding. In the middle of a complex, uncertain situation affecting many people, Facebook became a place where people were sharing information and looking to understand the condition of their loved ones.”

The social network did receive some criticism for rolling out the feature on the weekend in response to the attacks in Paris but not the bombings in Beirut. However, as Schultz explained, the circumstances in Lebanon did not meet the criteria the social network has in place before it releases the app.

“During an ongoing crisis, like war or epidemic, Safety Check in its current form is not that useful for people: because there isn’t a clear start or end point and, unfortunately, it’s impossible to know when someone is truly ‘safe.’”