Facebook activated its Safety Check system today following the tragic attack in Lahore, Pakistan in which dozens were killed by a suicide bomber. However, the activation didn’t go off as planned as others around the world, specifically in the U.S. and the U.K., received notifications from the social networking company asking them to check in and let their loved ones know they’re okay. Facebook has since apologized, blaming the problem on a bug that it says has been resolved.
Reports indicate that at least 63 people, mostly women and children, were killed and more than 300 people injured during an attack on a children’s park in Lahore. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaatul Ahrar (TTP-JA), a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, is believed to have claimed responsibility.
Following the Paris terrorist attacks last year and the criticism it faced over which events to activate the Safety Check, Facebook broadened its rules for when to implement the program, launching it in the aftermath of attacks in Nigeria, after the floods in Chennai, India, earthquakes in northeast India and southern Taiwan, and attacks in Ankara, Turkey.
The premise of the Safety Check is to allow users to notify their loved ones via Facebook that they’re okay. Originally unveiled following the devastating tsunami and earthquake that struck Japan, it’s intended to only notify those in the affected area based on their location, regardless of whether it was a natural disaster or man-made. However, with the Lahore attack, something went wrong and the geographic range was wide-reaching, something that the company says is “counter to the product’s intent.”
Ironic that a technical mishap from @facebook is informing the masses about the developing situation in Lahore (1/2) http://pic.twitter.com/tX4lMdFlFu
— Sioned Treharne (@SionedTreharne) March 27, 2016
Facebook is having issues with its emergency alerts. My GF was asked twice if she’s in Pakistan. She’s in Philly. http://pic.twitter.com/nLIX5min12
— Joseph Lichterman (@ylichterman) March 27, 2016
More information:
Facebook bug causes Lahore Safety Check notifications to be sent to those unaffected
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