Facebook users will no longer be allowed to vote on proposed policy changes at the company because their comments weren't good enough. The move prompted data protection regulators in Europe to seek urgent clarification from the company.
Until now, the company promised that any of its proposed policy changes that attracted 7,000 "substantive" comments would be put to a vote.
While some comments have led the company to develop alternatives to some proposed policy changes, "The voting mechanism ... actually resulted in a system that incentivized the quantity of comments over their quality," the company said Wednesday
"We're proposing to end the voting component of the process in favor of a system that leads to more meaningful feedback and engagement," Facebook said in
a post detailing the proposed changes published on Wednesday.
Facebook's past policy changes have attracted close scrutiny from the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) in Ireland, where Facebook's European Union headquarters is situated, and the recent change is no exception.