Facebook’s Sandberg Admits ‘Mistakes,’ Focuses On Data Security

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has outlined five things the social media giant is doing as it “reflects and learns” from its past mistakes.

“At Facebook, these last few years have been difficult,” she said, speaking at the DLD conference in Munich, according to CNBC. “We need to stop abuse more quickly and we need to do better to protect people’s data. We have acknowledged our mistakes.”

The company has faced public backlash since it was revealed last year that Cambridge Analytica improperly collected personal data from Facebook users that was reportedly used to help elect U.S. President Donald Trump. In addition, the company revealed in September that roughly 50 million of its users had their data exposed through an attack on its network.

As a result, Facebook shares have fallen about 16 percent over the past year.

During the conference, Sandberg outlined five things Facebook is doing to fix its data security issues and regain public trust, including investing in safety and security; fighting back against election interference; closing down fake accounts and information; assuring users that they are in control of their own information; and boosting transparency at Facebook.

Sandberg added that Facebook is working to prevent election interference by removing pages on its platform that have “inauthentic behavior.” In fact, with the elections to the European Parliament on the horizon, Sandberg said Facebook is blocking more than 1 million “fake accounts” every day, and it has “dramatically cut down on the information apps can access” from users.

She says Facebook “understands the deep responsibilities we have … We need to stop abuse more quickly and we need to do better to protect people’s data.”

“Speaking for Mark [Zuckerberg], for myself and for everyone at Facebook, we are more determined than ever to keep people safe. And we are taking strong actions to do it,” she added.