Meta's trial unveils potential Facebook reset proposal
Meta is facing the American federal government in a landmark antitrust trial over allegations of illegally crushing competition by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp. This has brought to light interesting new details, such as Mark Zuckerberg's ideas about removing friends.
For several days, Meta has been involved in a highly interesting trial, where it has been accused by the federal government in Washington of illegally eliminating competition through the purchase of Instagram and WhatsApp. As described by "The New York Times," this has highlighted new facts and brought Zuckerberg's ideas to the forefront, like the notion that everyone on Facebook could "start fresh."
Mark Zuckerberg wanted to remove users' friends on Facebook
"NYT" discusses in its podcast some of the most surprising revelations from old emails that have been made public as evidence in the case.
Kevin Roose, co-host of "Hard Fork," a technology podcast admitted that in 2022, Mark Zuckerberg proposed the notion of removing all friends on Facebook, essentially allowing everyone to begin anew with a fresh list of Facebook friends.
Facebook is more of a bulletin board today
This raises questions about whether Zuckerberg might find Facebook cooler and more interesting if, in today's network, it didn't include people you added 12 years ago and have never spoken with again. These considerations, highlighted in the disclosed emails, reveal a broader issue affecting social media in general.
Over time, networks become "filled" with people who are either no longer active or have no real connection with us. Such phenomena may cause algorithms and the overall perception of the platform to become less "clean" and less engaging. Over time, Facebook has become more of a platform for announcements, events, vacation photos, and advertisements, rather than a place for genuine interactions.
Facebook has been operating for 21 years
Facebook is a social platform that allows registered users to create networks and groups, share messages and photos, and use a variety of applications. The main creator of the platform is Mark Zuckerberg, who currently serves as the CEO. The service is owned by Meta Platforms, headquartered in Menlo Park.
Facebook was launched on February 4, 2004, at Harvard University and was initially targeted mainly at students of the institution. Since 2006, Facebook has been accessible to all users over the age of 13, except in certain countries where the minimum age is 14.
