Facebook Building a Feature to Let You Clear Your History Meanwhile, the British Parliament has threatened to issue a summons to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify across the pond if he doesn't voluntarily agree to do so.
This story originally appeared on PCMag
In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook today announced plans to build a feature that will let you clear your history.
The upcoming Clear History feature will let you see all the websites and apps that are sending Facebook information about you, delete that data from your account, and disable the social network's ability to store it associated with your account in the future. Facebook plans to work with privacy advocates, academics and lawmakers when building this new feature, which should take "a few months" to arrive.
"Apps and websites that use features such as the Like button or Facebook Analytics send us information to make their content and ads better," Facebook Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan explained in a blog post. "We also use this information to make your experience on Facebook better."
If you clear your history, Facebook will remove personally identifying information, so a record of the websites and apps you've used will no longer be associated with your account.
Meanwhile, the British Parliament on Tuesday sent a letter to Facebook, once again, asking CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify as part of its probe into fake news and disinformation on the platform, and they are not playing around this time.
In the letter, Damian Collins, Chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said Zuckerberg can either go there voluntarily by May 24, or officials will issue a summons.
I have today written to @facebook requesting that Mark Zuckerberg appears in front of @CommonsCMS as part of our inquiry into fake news and disinformation. Read it here: https://t.co/jXZ5TjiZld pic.twitter.com/m0NU5Uyf2L
— Damian Collins (@DamianCollins) May 1, 2018
"While Mr Zuckerberg does not normally come under the jurisdiction of the U.K. Parliament, he will do so the next time he enters the country," the letter reads. "We hope that he will respond positively to our request, but if not the Committee will resolve to issue a formal summons for him to appear when he is next in the U.K."
Collins went on to say that Facebook Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer, who appeared before the committee yesterday in place of Zuckerberg, "failed to answer fully on nearly 40 separate points" but promised to follow up with the answers. The committee gave Facebook until May 11 to provide those answers and respond as to whether Zuckerberg plans to testify.
Zuckerberg testified before U.S. House and Senate committees last month.
