Mark Zuckerberg just revealed plans to bring about what could Dubbedbe one of the most significant changes in Facebook's history.
In an over 3,000 word post on his Facebook page, the CEO laid out his vision for Facebook's future: one that would transform the social network into a "privacy-focused" platform that emphasizes encryption and disappearing content.
It's a philosophical shift that would have significant implications for how Facebook's billions of users use its services. But if the last 15 years of Facebook have taught us anything, it's that we shouldn't take Zuckerberg's words at face value.
SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg explains why he wants to merge Messenger, WhatsApp, and InstagramYes, big changes are coming. And yes, some of those changes -- like making end-to-end encryption more widespread -- have long been requested by privacy advocates. But that doesn't mean Zuckerberg isn't motivated by the same ideals.
For one, the timing of Zuckerberg's sudden change of heart is extraordinarily convenient. Facebook is currently staring down the barrel of a massive FTC fine for privacy violations in the wake of Cambridge Analytica. The Washington Posthas reported the fine will be a "record-setting" amount that could end up costing Facebook billions of dollars.
And, sure, Zuckerberg's promises to remake Facebook into some kind of Facebook Coin-fueled privacy haven likely won't matter much when the FTC comes knocking, but it will almost certainly help the company navigate the inevitable PR crisis when "Facebook" and "record FTC fine" are splashed across front pages.
The FTC fine isn't the only government action Facebook has to worry about. The company is also dealing with the very real prospect of increased regulation from officials in the United States and Europe. One area of concern to lawmakers is Facebook's control over several of the most popular messaging apps in the world make it a monopoly.
Zuckerberg faced some uncomfortable questions from Congress over exactly this issue last year. (unsurprisingly, he didn't have a very good answer when asked directly if Facebook was a monopoly). By blurring the lines between WhatsApp and Instagram and Messenger, Facebook can claim that it's all really just one service, not independent entities that can be easily separated.
Finally, we don't even need to look that far to find examples of Zuckerberg promising to clean up Facebook's data privacy issues as a way of trying to eke out a PR win. It's hardly been a year since Zuck took the stage at F8 and promised a "clear history" tool, which would prevent Facebook from tracking your activity and targeting you with ads.
Ten months later, not only is there no sign of "clear history," but recent reporting from BuzzFeed proves what many had long suspected: the tool was simply a way for Zuckerberg to save face during the company's worst public relations crisis in recent memory. The proposed tool was "barely an idea" at the time. (Facebook told Recode it expects to start testing the feature this spring.)
And that's just onefeature. Who knows how long it will take to retool Facebook's infrastructure --something Zuckerberg has said will be a years-long effort -- and what kind of tradeoffs will be made between now and then?
But, hey, this new "privacy-focused" narrative is, at least, a lot more convenient until then.
Topics Cybersecurity Facebook Privacy
Parent lovingly embarrasses their teen with a custom Snapchat filterThe mysterious hedge maze from 'SThe only Melania in the White House is this photographWhy Warren Buffett is the new face of CocaThe White House says it's totally saving Trump's deleted tweets, don't you worryYour internet data is absolutely a national security issueIt looks like the Undertaker has wrestled his last match, and we're having all the feelsThe Mac Pro is getting a major doThe internet is debating Peeps on pizza and OMG what is happening'Ghost Recon: Wildlands' review: Ambitious but poorly executedIt looks like the Undertaker has wrestled his last match, and we're having all the feelsSonos PlayBase puts excellent home theater sound right where it belongsThat 'Ghost in the Shell' race problem is even worse than it looksGood god, 'The Graduate' is back in theatersClarity smart speaker has Alexa, Google Assistant, and a touchscreenWon’t You Be My Neighbor?Medieval villagers fought off zombies with this easy hackIt looks like Samsung's foldable phone won't be coming anytime soonMedieval villagers fought off zombies with this easy hackTrump just dropped the hammer on Silicon Valley's efforts to hire abroad Golden Globes 2018: Oprah's powerful acceptance speech wins Golden Globes 2018: Seth Meyers opener features Amy Poehler With the 'bomb cyclone' gone, intense cold has set in Helena Bonham Carter cast in Netflix's 'The Crown' Season 3 Dell XPS 13 2018 hands on: Thinner, lighter and USB Golden Globes 2018 red carpet: Pictures Thousands of Cleveland Browns gather for parade of catharsis Insta360 Nano S, announced at CES, turns your iPhone into a 360 camera Drone footage of a frozen beach is just as stunning as you'd think Toyota unveils self Facebook 'M' virtual assistant will no longer have humans doing tasks Sarah Silverman responded to a troll with kindness and it was beautiful Amazon is bringing Alexa voice controls to your car, even when it's offline Philly cheesesteak The Aflac duck became a toy robot to help kids fighting cancer The first draft of that steamed hams script from 'The Simpsons' was excellent too Here's how 'Meltdown' and 'Spectre' got those terrifying names Cree Nation leader calls out negative portrayal of historical figure in 'Civ 6' The next frontier for self Steve Carell met Kelly Clarkson at the Golden Globes and it's perfect
2.3252s , 8225.7578125 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Dubbed】,Prosperous Times Information Network