Facebook Safety Check Now Available; Criticized For Paris-Only Availability!

Following the backlash and criticisms regarding the inaccessibility of Safety Check feature for targeted cities other than Paris, the social networking website announced today that Facebook's Safety Check will be operational for other disasters as reported by Independent UK.

The all-new Facebook Safety Check button has been initially activated for Paris-based users so they could ensure their loved ones that they are safe in certain areas which are in danger. The website activated the feature last Friday, Nov. 13 at the eve of terrorist attacks which occurred at Le Bataclan during Eagles of Death Metal's concert in the French capital.

However, this move was met with several criticisms as on the day of terrorist attacks in Paris went on, Beirut had double suicide bombings happened simultaneously. It left 43 people dead and 250 injured, yet the Facebook Safety Check was inaccessible for the users based on the Lebanese capital.

The website founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, expressed his statement regarding the inactivity of their newest feature on other places of emergency. "You are right that there are many other important conflicts in the world," he said. "We care about all people equally, and we will work hard to help people suffering in as many of these situations as we can," he added, as reported by Venture Beat.

In support, the vice-president for growth Alex Schultz also released a statement, where he added: "I n the middle of a complex, uncertain situation affecting many people, Facebook became a place where people were sharing information and looking to understand the condition of their loved ones."

Facebookclaimed that they have learned a lot from the launch of Safety Check. They vow to continue exploring and developing new ways to help people in showing support for the things they care for.

Currently, Facebook is one of the largest social networking websites in the world with 1.44 billion users to date. It was founded in 2004 as means to meet new and old friends online in similar format to MySpace.