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.

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.