Facebook will permit users in the U.S. and Canada to transfer pictures and videos to a competitor tech platform for the first time – a step that could assuage antitrust concerns by giving users a possibility to simply leave the corporate’s services, the social media network stated on Thursday.
The tool allows Facebook users to transfer data saved on its servers straight to another picture storage service, in this case Google Photos – a feature often called data portability.
U.S. and Canadian users will have the ability to access the device through their Facebook accounts beginning Thursday. The feature has already been launched in a number of nations along with Europe and Latin America.
It allows the social media firm to give users more control over their data and reply to U.S. regulators and lawmakers who’re investigating its aggressive practices and allegations it has stifled competitors.
The U.S. launch also comes forward of a hearing set up by the Federal Trade Commission on September 22 to examine the potential benefits and challenges of data portability. Control of data that hurts competition has turned out to be a vital topic in the antitrust debate in the U.S. and Europe.
Facebook’s Privacy and Public Policy Director Steve Satterfield stated over the past couple of years, the company heard calls from policymakers and regulators asking it to facilitate choice, make it easier for individuals to choose new providers and move their data to new services.
