Facebook will now go by the name Meta, the company announced Thursday by pulling down a curtain draped over its iconic ‘Like’ sign outside its Silicon Valley headquarters Thursday.
Meta is the company’s latest venture into shared augmented and virtual world environments that people can access over the internet.
It comes as the company is ensnared in controversy relating to whistleblower Frances Haugen’s leaked documents and bombshell claims that the company ‘puts profits over people.’
Facebook Inc., the parent company of Instagram and WhatsApp, will retain its original, flagship social media platform and app.
Facebook will now go by the name Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday at the Facebook Connect augmented and virtual reality conference
It includes a new logo depicting a blue infinity symbol and refers to the ‘metaverse’, the company’s new focus to expand beyond its social media apps
The announcement, which came at the Facebook Connect augmented and virtual reality conference, includes a new logo depicting a blue infinity symbol and refers to the ‘metaverse’, the company’s new focus to expand beyond its social media apps.
The term “metaverse” could refer to digital spaces that are made more real-lifelike through the use augmented reality or virtual reality.
He stated, “Our mission remains unchanged, it’s still all about bringing people together,” adding, “Now we have a New North Star to help bring this metaverse to life.”
He explained that the word “beyond” in Greek means “beyond” and that it symbolizes that there is always more to be built and a new chapter in the story.
‘I believe the metaverse is the next chapter of the Internet and it’s the next chapter of our company too,’ he said, adding, ‘While most etch companies focus on how people could connect to technology, we focus on building technology so people could connect with each other.’
Zuckerberg previously suggested that the metaverse was the future of the company and has been talking about it since July.
The company has made significant investments in virtual reality and augment reality, including Oculus VR headsets and AR glasses.
The term, which was first used to describe a dystopian novel in the 1930s, is now very popular in Silicon Valley. Other tech companies, such as Microsoft, have also used it.
The move is reminiscent of when Google abruptly renamed itself Alphabet in 2015, making Google a subsidiary and allowing it to become a technology conglomerate.
Zuckerberg has suggested previously that the metaverse is the future of the company. He has been talking about the metaverse since July.
Users’ avatars can change their expression and move in the metaverse with the user.
The company has made significant investments in virtual reality and augment reality, including the Oculus VR headsets and AR glasses.
Many are wondering if the name will suffice to lift Meta from its mounting public relations woes.
For the company’s independent oversight board, the answer is no. The Facebook Oversight Board called it “meaningless” and stated that, “Changing the name doesn’t change reality: Facebook destroys democracy and is the world’s largest peddler of hate and disinformation.”
In addition to a new drop of documents from Haugen, last Monday. U.S. officials have announced that Facebook Inc has agreed to pay pay of up to $14.25million to settle civil claims made by the government that Facebook Inc discriminated against American workers.
And last Tuesday in the U.K., the company was fined £50.5 million ($70 million) after failing to provide enough important information to the competition regulator investigating the firm’s takeover of GIF sharing platform Giphy.
The acquisition was investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority of Britain (CMA) in June 2013. This probe was launched shortly after the deal was announced. It was initiated due to concerns about a’substantial decrease in competition’.
Facebook responded to the fine by saying that it strongly disagreed with the CMA’s unfair decision not to punish Facebook for its best effort compliance approach. The CMA ultimately approved the fine. We will examine the decision of the CMA and consider all options.
Facebook has also acknowledged that it allows users to share information about illegal entry and about people smuggled through its social media platforms.
This admission comes after Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich asked the Department of Justice to investigate the social media giant’s ‘facilitation of illegal migration into America’.
The California-based behemoth could see a boost in its reputation. It has been hit hard in recent years. The company was already facing many scandals before the controversy over the Facebook Papers.
It was accused in 2016 of aiding the spread of misinformation, leading to a series congressional hearings and policy changes. These included the introduction of third party fact-checkers and increased transparency in political advertising.
Facebook was fined $5 billion by the Federal Trade Commission in 2019 for allowing 87,000,000 US profiles to have their data used by British firm Cambridge Analytica for political advertising.
Some of the advertising was used for the 2016 campaign of former President Donald Trump.
Zuckerberg didn’t pay attention to any scandals or Facebook papers while announcing his new name. He was focused solely upon Meta’s future goals.
Roblox is a popular game for children. Many are familiar with the metaverse, which it calls a metaverse company. Epic Games’ Fortnite can also be considered part of this metaverse.
The metaverse is going to be a focus and I think this will just be a large part of the next chapters for the evolution of the internet after mobile internet, Zuckerberg said to The Verge earlier in the year.
“And it’s going be the next major chapter for our company too. We’re really doubling down in that area.”
Facebook announced on Sunday that it was hiring 10,000 people in Europe for the construction of the metaverse.