- By Vikas Yadav
- Mon, 05 Feb 2024 11:21 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Meta's Facebook is among the top social media apps used across the globe for networking. The platform has completed 20 years since its launch and continues to remain the leading choice among users when it comes to social communication. Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg launched 'thefacebook.com' with his friends at Harvard. The app was earlier aimed to meet the needs of students (and not the public like what it stands today) to share messages and posts (on the 'wall' feed) and form a network of like-minded peers.
Here are the top events from the company's journey.
Early Days: New Features, Data Breaches And More
Days after the launch, three Harvard students accused Mark of stealing the idea of their creation - ConnectU, Sky News reported. This claim was finally settled in 2008 with Zuckerberg's Harvard fellows in exchange for $65 million, the platform's shares and more terms. Facebook managed one million users by the end of 2004.
The company announced the option to let users upload photos in 2005 and 'profile pictures' were also introduced on the platform later. In the same year, Zuckerberg scrapped 'the' from the name and purchased the 'Facebook.com' domain for $200,000.
In 2008, Facebook introduced 'chat' that became 'Messenger' in 2011. (Image:Unsplash)
Next year (2006), the platform expanded to more users (with 18+ age and an email address as a requirement) beyond students and a mobile site was also launched. The year also marked a controversy due to the 'Beacon' feature that displayed the purchase history of users on profiles. However, this was rectified with the arrival of the functionality to switch off the option.
In subsequent years, the company introduced advertisements, Marketplace, pages and more, bolstering the revenue streams of the platform. In 2008, the company introduced the app for iPhones and announced 'chat' (that became Messenger in 2011). The platform also witnessed a data breach that leaked the date of birth details of over 80 million users. By 2010, the platform reached 500 million users.
In 2011, the platform was sued by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on account of several violations of its policy. In 2023, the FTC engaged in a third case with the company. A year after that, the company purchased Instagram for $1 billion and reached one billion users.
In 2013, a bug leaked mobile numbers and email IDs of about six million people. The same year, Facebook also introduced the option to edit posts and send emojis and stickers. 2014 proved to be a turning point as the company purchased WhatsApp at 19 times the cost of Instagram.
Mid-Years: Controversies, Lawsuits And More
The year after that (2015), the headline-making Cambridge Analytica scandal (that harvested data of US politicians among other users without consent) knocked on the doors of the platform, which hampered Facebook's reputation in a massive way. Facebook Live was introduced by the platform a year later. This was followed by Stories and Facebook 360 to upload photos in panoramic view. In 2019, the platform witnessed three data leaks. This leaked details of over 800 million users. In its response, the company invested roughly $5.5 billion to curb such instances.
In 2020, as a result of the second FTC, the company was banned from monetising data of under 18 individuals and limiting its use cases for AI. As a part of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the company paid $5 billion as a fine. In the times of COVID, Zuckerberg introduced the Meta rebrand. In the same year, the company handled a lawsuit that alleged the platform failed to curb the genocide promotion of Rohingya Muslims (in Myanmar).
As the company continues to sail through the AI tide and compete with its alternatives, Meta introduced Meta Verified and a range of AI features for the platform. As Zuckerberg recently appeared before the US Senate, the company will aim to limit the spread of misinformation and exploitation of children on the platform in the future.