Facebook needs no intro; the social media monster started by Mark Zuckerberg is here to stay. With millions of users all over the world, it has been one of the most effective ways for brands to reach the audience and has been used very effectively by PR firms. The irony is that Facebook has been finding itself in some very sticky spots in recent days, here’s how they were addressed.
The Cambridge Analytica leak
Facebook had landed up with plenty of bad press after the Cambridge Analytica leak. The Observer reported that the private data of around 50 million Americans had been leaked to a political consultancy. When the scandal broke out, Facebook was too slow to react. Mark Zuckerberg took five full days to respond on the scene and by this time the damage was already done. This brought them quite a lot of flak.
Recent data breach
Facebook is a quick learner however, post the Cambridge Analytica incident, it not only pulled up its socks but also reviewed its crisis communication game plan. Recently, Facebook confronted a major data breach where the privacy of over 50 million accounts was compromised in an attack. CNN furnished details on this and revealed that the hackers had used a attribute called”View as”. This allows Facebook users visit their Facebook page exactly how anyone else would. This was utilised to acquire accounts and utilize them exactly like the account holders.
Once the infringement came to the knowledge of Facebook, it acted quickly both in terms of swift remedying the breach as well as reaching out and clarifying what exactly had happed.
Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive took a conference call with journalists. “ I ’m glad we identified this, but it surely is an issue that this happed in the first place.”
Meanwhile, a press release was dispatched out where Guy Rosen, Facebook’s Vice President of Product Management disclosed the action taken, “ First, we ’ve fixed the vulnerability and informed law enforcement.
“ Second, we’ve reset the access tokens of the nearly 50 million accounts we know were affected to safeguard their security. We ’re also taking the preventative step of resetting access tokens for another 40 million accounts that have been subject to a “ View As” look-up in the last year. As a result, around 90 million people will now have to log back in to Facebook, or any of their apps that use Facebook Login. After they’ve logged back in, people will get a notice at the top of their News Feed explaining what happed. Third, we ’re temporarily turning off the “ View As” feature while we conduct a thorough security review.”
Their prompt and clear response has endeared them to Facebook users. It has also revived confidence in Facebook, though it’ll still take time for the full impact to reduce. Whenever crisis strikes any company, it’s important to take a slice out of Facebook’s PR and respond swiftly and maintain a good and crystal clear line of communication. This will go a long way in reviving client confidence and fidelity.
Literacy
- Respond swiftly and be crystal clear
- Shoot out a press release right away when a crisis breaks out
- Have a contingency process in place so that you know how to address it
- Keep the communication rolling steadily
- Make sure that you have one spokesman only
