Facebook launches a photo portability tool, starting in Ireland
The photo portability feature is initially being offered to Facebook users in Ireland, where the companys international HQ is based.
Facebook says it is still testing and tweaking the feature based on feedback but slates worldwide availability as coming in the first half of 2020.
It also suggests porting to other photo storage services will be supported in the future, in addition to Google Photos which specifying which services it may seek to add.
Facebook also points to a white paper it published in September where it advocates for clear rules to govern the types of data that should be portable and who is responsible for protecting that data as it moves to different providers.
Behind all these moves is of course the looming threat of antitrust regulation, with legislators and agencies on both sides of the Atlantic now closely eyeing platforms grip on markets, eyeballs and data.
Its certainly true that portability of user uploaded data can be helpful in encouraging people to feel they can move from a dominant service.
However it is also something of a smokescreen especially when A) the platform in question is a social network like Facebook ; and B) the value derived from the data is retained by the platform regardless of whether the photos themselves travel elsewhere.
Facebook processes user uploaded data such as photos to gain personal insights to profile users for ad targeting purposes.
Competition regulators looking to reboot digital markets will need to dig beneath the surface of such self-serving initiatives if they are to alight on a meaningful method of reining in platform power.
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