Brussels attacks: Facebook Safety Check activated after explosions hit Belgium airport and Metro station
Tue Mar 22, 2016 02:52:pm World
3.6K By sosa hills
Facebook has activated its Safety Check feature, so people in Brussels can let loved ones know they're okay.
The tool was designed to allow people to easily tell their friends that they are safe in the wake of a disaster. If Facebook guesses that a user might be in an affected area, then they can mark themselves safe and have that message appear for their friends.
A suicide bombing at the Brussels airport and an attack on the Brussels Metro on Tuesday left dozens dead and many more injured.
In addition to themselves, people can declare other friends "Safe," "Unsafe," or "Not in the area." Safety statuses appear as a notification on their friends' Facebook accounts and News Feeds. Friends will then get an alert in their news feeds. That information could be listed on someone's profile or disclosed when using the "Nearby Friends" feature.
Now the site has activated the tool, around two hours after it was first turned on. It will display for anyone that the site thinks is in Brussels, as well as for people who are friends with people who mark themselves safe.
"Quickly find and connect with friends in the area," the message that shows up for users says. "Mark them safe if you know they're OK."
Facebook (FB, Tech30) unveiled Safety Check in 2014. The attacks on Paris four months ago were the first time that Facebook used Safety Check for a terror attack, previously only using the tool for natural disasters.
The Dutch Red Cross has also set up a safety check-in website, called "I am safe."
Google has not activated its Person Finder tool for Brussels, though it typically limits that to large-scale natural disasters.
But its use has also proved controversial, with some people criticising the site for ignoring attacks that happen outside of the West or in developing countries.
The tool was designed to allow people to easily tell their friends that they are safe in the wake of a disaster. If Facebook guesses that a user might be in an affected area, then they can mark themselves safe and have that message appear for their friends.
A suicide bombing at the Brussels airport and an attack on the Brussels Metro on Tuesday left dozens dead and many more injured.
In addition to themselves, people can declare other friends "Safe," "Unsafe," or "Not in the area." Safety statuses appear as a notification on their friends' Facebook accounts and News Feeds. Friends will then get an alert in their news feeds. That information could be listed on someone's profile or disclosed when using the "Nearby Friends" feature.
Now the site has activated the tool, around two hours after it was first turned on. It will display for anyone that the site thinks is in Brussels, as well as for people who are friends with people who mark themselves safe.
"Quickly find and connect with friends in the area," the message that shows up for users says. "Mark them safe if you know they're OK."
Facebook (FB, Tech30) unveiled Safety Check in 2014. The attacks on Paris four months ago were the first time that Facebook used Safety Check for a terror attack, previously only using the tool for natural disasters.
The Dutch Red Cross has also set up a safety check-in website, called "I am safe."
Google has not activated its Person Finder tool for Brussels, though it typically limits that to large-scale natural disasters.
But its use has also proved controversial, with some people criticising the site for ignoring attacks that happen outside of the West or in developing countries.
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