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Facebook is reportedly planning to change its name at the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28. The new name is likely to be subjected to the parent company and not the product itself. The parent company will operate Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Oculus, and other ventures.
This decision comes after the company received much flak when Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked the company’s internal documents to The Wall Street Journal around the first week of October. The report included mentions of policies, plans, and decisions that favored profits over users’ mental health. The 37-year-old former employee also appeared before the US Senate against Facebook.
She claimed the social media platform’s algorithm intentionally promotes content that makes users angry. In her 60-Minutes interview, Haugen said,
“It’s easier to inspire people to anger than it is to other emotions.”
She also added:
“Facebook has realized that if they change the algorithm to be safer, people will spend less time on the site, they’ll click on less ads, they’ll make less money.”
Why is Facebook changing its name?
According to The Washington Post, Mark Zuckerberg wants to unite the company’s ventures under a project called The Metaverse. The initiative is also reportedly focused on aligning the company’s public perception to shift away from social media and incorporate other products and services.
Here’s how Twitter users reacted to Facebook’s decision to rebrand with a new name
The company has been criticized over its privacy policies ever since 2018 when the reports of the Cambridge Analytica scandal were publicized. After the social media giant reportedly decided to change its name, several tweets targeted co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the firm’s alleged commitment towards privacy.
A very brief timeline of Facebook’s controversies
Beginning
The social networking platform has dealt with its fair share of criticism since its inception in 2004. The company has been plagued with lawsuits ever since Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, along with Divya Narendra, sued Mark Zuckerberg and claimed that he stole their idea of a social network.
2008
A federal class-action lawsuit was laid against Facebook for allegedly violating user privacy by tracking, analyzing, and publishing users’ behaviors without their explicit permission.
2011
Prior to the Cambridge Analytica Scandal, Facebook was accused of leaking private user data to third parties by Symantec in its report.
2012
In 2017, app developer Six4Three sued the social media platform for closing their access to user data for small developers. The lawsuit revealed documents that mentioned Facebook having internal discussions about monetizing user data as early as 2012.
2018
The Guardian published its report of the Cambridge Analytica Scandal, the firm’s most extensive data breach at the time. Reports and investigations of Facebook’s use of data to identify Trump supporters were also leaked by a whistleblower. There were also allegations about the involvement of its data mining algorithm to profile Brexit supporters for the Vote Leave campaign.
2020
The US Senate grilled mark Zuckerberg along with other Big Tech CEOs.
2021
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked the company’s internal documents and appeared in front of the US Senate.
