Facebook

Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by American technology conglomerate Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, its name derives from the face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities. Since 2006, Facebook allows everyone to register from 13 years old, except in the case of a handful of nations, where the age limit is 14 years. As of December 2022, Facebook claimed almost 3 billion monthly active users. As of October 2023, Facebook ranked as the third-most-visited website in the world, with 22.56% of its traffic coming from the United States. It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s.
facebook

Some of the key events about Facebook

  • 2004
    Launched as a social networking platform for college students
  • 2006
    Opened registration to anyone over 13 years old, greatly expanding its user base
  • 2006
    Privacy concerns arose over the introduction of News Feed feature without proper user controls
  • 2007
    Introduced the Facebook Platform, allowing third-party developers to create applications
  • 2007
    Beacon advertising program launched, tracking users' activities on other websites without consent
  • 2008
    Launched Facebook Chat, enabling real-time communication between users
  • 2010
    Introduced the "Like" button, revolutionizing user engagement across the web
  • 2010
    Bug exposed private chat messages between some users to their Facebook friends
  • 2011
    Launched Facebook Messenger as a standalone messaging app
  • 2011
    Settled charges with the FTC over deceptive privacy practices
  • 2012
    Acquired Instagram, expanding its influence in photo-sharing social media
  • 2014
    Acquired WhatsApp, becoming a major player in global messaging
  • 2014
    Conducted controversial emotional manipulation study on users without explicit consent
  • 2016
    Launched Facebook Live, allowing users to broadcast live video to their audience
  • 2016
    Faced criticism for allowing the spread of fake news during the U.S. presidential election
  • 2018
    Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed improper access to millions of users' data
  • 2019
    Agreed to pay $5 billion fine to FTC for privacy violations
  • 2020
    Committed $100 million to support small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • 2021
    Whistleblower revealed internal documents showing the company's awareness of platform harms
  • 2022
    Meta (Facebook's parent company) laid off 11,000 employees, about 13% of its workforce

Disclaimer: This material is written based on information taken from open sources, including Wikipedia, news media, podcasts, and other public sources.

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