Facebook changes its name to Meta as it focuses on the visual world

The company made the decision amid a wave of criticism following the release of tens of thousands of internal documents.

Facebook changed its company name to Meta on Thursday, moving strongly to distance itself from the troubled communications business and renaming itself as a forward-looking creator of a new digital world known as "metaverse."

In a 75-minute online presentation, CEO Mark Zuckerberg urged users to adjust their thinking about the company, saying it had grown its ubiquitous and problematic social media platform - a platform that will continue to be known through Facebook. Instead, he said, the company plans to focus on what Zuckerberg describes as the next computer wave: a virtual universe where people can roam freely as avatars, attending visual business meetings, shopping in virtual shops and entertaining in virtual circles.

"From now on, we're going to be a metaverse first. Not on Facebook first," said Zuckerberg in Connect, an annual corporate event focused on real-world reality. "Facebook is one of the most used brands in the world. , our product is so closely linked to one product that you can't stand everything we do. "

The move comes as Facebook is embroiled in controversy over allegations that it secretly and carefully monitors global accidents posed by its forums, ignored its employees' warnings about the dangers of their design decisions and exposed vulnerable communities around the world at a dinner party. harmful content. After this month’s investigator translated tens of thousands of company documents into Congress and the U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission, lawmakers and critics have called for urgent action to strengthen the technical officer.

The revelations of Frances Haugen whistling undoubtedly represent the greatest challenge to date for Zuckerberg and his company, listed as the world's largest social media platform. Critics were quick to condemn the act, comparing it to a difficult strategy employed by tobacco company Phillip Morris when it became clear that the company had long known that tobacco harmed people's health.

Zuckerberg said the reconstruction will listen to "lessons" of the past, noting in a blog post that privacy and security will be built on a new generation of products "from day one" - a clear confession of Facebook's distrust record. In his keynote address, he also admitted to memorizing the problems of Facebook, saying, "The past few years have been submissive to me and my company in many ways."

But Facebook's credibility is real. The crisis created by the Facebook Papers, cited by Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission in response to a serious case, follows other scandals in recent years, such as Russia's disinformation in the 2016 presidential election and the Cambridge Analytica crisis that highlighted it. improper sharing of personal data.

The current problem is more prevalent in the company, because the damage comes from within rather than from an outsider who abuses the service. Facebook pages also touch on all aspects of the service, exposing fundamental flaws in the design of its algorithms, the design of the platform, and its policies, while the revealed risks regarding mental health and fragmentation are closer to home for most Americans.