Following the Paris attacks on Friday, Nov. 13, many Facebook users with love ones living within the area received a notification from the social networking site. The notification is said to be a new feature called Safety Check. It was activated by Facebook to let users in Paris easily tell their friends and family that they are safe.

And like some of the features that Facebook has unveiled in the past, though it did prove useful for some users, it also drew ire and controversy. Some users has took it upon themselves to criticize the social networking site for launching it for the Paris attacks and not using it on the other recent attack like the twin suicide bombing in Beirut that killed over 40 people which happened the day before the said attacks. Apparently this is another western bias where certain lives are more valued than others.

Facebook, upon receiving these complaints, decided to release a statement last Saturday, Nov. 14 answering the said accusations. Facebook's Vice President of Growth Alex Schultz wrote in a blog post that this has been the first time that the social networking site has enabled the "Safety Check" for anything other than a natural disaster, which was the original intended use of the tool when it was first released last year.

He further writes that like in natural disasters, when the attacks happen, Facebook has become a place where people share information and check the condition of their loved ones. After deliberations with their employees on this ground, Facebook decided that it would be a good idea to turn on the Safety Check feature. He adds that there has to be a first time for something new, even in complex and sensitive times, and for them it was Paris.

Schultz's also writes that during an on-going crisis like war or an epidemic, Safety Check in its current form, may not be that useful for people because there isn't a clear start or end point. And unfortunately up to now, there is no absolute way to really know if someone is really safe. But he also said that they want this Facebook tool to be available anytime and anywhere it can help. And with this recent launching, they will learn a lot from feedbacks.

Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg also released his statement regarding the issue saying that yes, people were right when they said that there are many other important conflicts in the world. Facebook cares about all people equally and that they will work hard to help people who are suffering in as many of these situations as they possibly can.