Potentially
overshadowing its F8 developer summit, Facebook just confirmed the firing of a “security engineer” over accusations of stalking women.
The revelation -- first reported by NBC News
and Motherboard -- comes as Facebook continues to face tough questions over user privacy.
Making matters even more awkward for Facebook, the social giant just announced plans to add
dating features to its flagship service.
With the forthcoming offering, users will be able to create a dating profile separate from their Facebook profile. Potential matches will be
recommended -- based on dating preferences, things in common, and mutual friends.
Whether news of the stalker makes users more reluctant to share such information with Facebook remains to be
seen.
More broadly, Facebook is still trying to repair its brand in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica controversy. As part of its restoration efforts, the company just announ
ced plans to give users more control over the data it collects about them.
Facebook also announced plans to bring in external advisers to “audit” its impact on minority
communities, accused bias toward conservatives, and other potential shortcomings.
During Mark Zuckerberg’s recent appearance on Capitol Hill, a number of Republican lawmakers suggested
that Facebook’s News Feed has not been kind to conservatives. Potentially rankling conservative critics, Facebook revealed this week that it has begun ranking news in users New Feeds. based on
its own trustworthiness algorithms.
In spite of its many missteps, Facebook’s first-quarter earnings still managed to beat analyst expectations. The company took in nearly $12 billion in
revenue during the quarter -- about 50% more than the same period a year ago.