Facebook pages with large U.S. following to require more authorization

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc (FB.O) will introduce an authorization process for users who manage Facebook pages with a large U.S. following, it said here on Friday, seeking to make it harder to administer a page using a fake or compromised account.

FILE PHOTO: People are silhouetted as they pose with mobile devices in front of a screen projected with a Facebook logo, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica, October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

The measures come about a week after the social network said it identified a new coordinated political influence campaign on its platform to mislead users ahead of November’s U.S. congressional elections.

At the time, Facebook removed 32 pages and accounts from Facebook and Instagram as part of efforts to combat foreign meddling in U.S. elections.

The new measures will require administrators of Facebook pages to secure their account with two-factor authentication and confirm their primary home location.

Facebook will also add a section that shows the primary country from where a page is being managed.

Facebook-owned photo-sharing app Instagram will also roll out similar features in the coming weeks.

Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar

(Original source)