Facebook made some improvements to its platform policies this week. The company used its U.S. Public Policy page to share the recent changes, and how it is designed to protect users from developers aiming to use data for surveillance purposes. 

The changes are both theoretical and literal, with the former taking the guise of language that makes it clearer to developers that using data for surveillance is prohibited on the social media platform. As far as more practical measures are concerned, Facebook will not allow the data it provides to developers for use in surveillance either. 

This move comes from recent "enforcement action" according to The Verge, as the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) stated that the media surveillance tool, Geofeedia was used to access data on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in October of last year. In particular, Geofeedia was used to monitor protests in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody. 

Facebook has noted that it continues to work with civil rights groups in order to make its platform a safer experience for all its users. "We will continue using our policies to support our community, and we hope that these efforts will help encourage other companies to take positive steps as well, expressed Rob Sherman, deputy chief privacy officer at Facebook. You can read his full statement below.