Mark Zuckerberg: Difference between revisions

Zuckerberg is the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other digital services. He launched "TheFacebook" on February 4, 2004, while he was studying psychology and computer science at Harvard University. Facebook, originating as a campus directory to connect Harvard students, expanded rapidly reaching one million users within a year becoming the world’s largest social network by 2009.

===Public statements supporting consumer control===

*2004, "People have very good control over who can see their information" .<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Balakrishnan |first=Anita |last2=Salinas |first2=Sara |last3=Hunter |first3=Matt |date=April 9, 2018 |title=Mark Zuckerberg has been talking about privacy for 15 years - here’s almost everything he’s said |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/21/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerbergs-statements-on-privacy-2003-2018.html |work=CNBC}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Salinas |first=Sara |last2=Balakrishnan |first2=Anita |date=December 19, 2018 |title=Mark Zuckerberg has been talking and apologizing about privacy since 2003 - here’s a reminder of what he’s said |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/19/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-privacy-apologies.html |work=CNBC}}</ref>

*2019, he acknowledged Facebook’s poor privacy reputation, but pledged to build a "privacy focused platform".<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Hern |first=Alex |date=March 7, 2019 |title=Mark Zuckerberg's privacy blogpost: what he did and didn't say |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/mar/07/mark-zuckerbergs-privacy-blogpost-what-he-said-and-what-he-didnt |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

However, these statements often frame control narrowly, focusing on visibility settings rather than limiting Facebook’s own data collection or third-party sharing.

===Actions undermining control===

*Lax Data Policies: [[The Cambridge Analytica Scandal]] revealed Facebook allowed third-party apps to harvest data from millions without explicit consent. Zuckerberg admitted, "We simply did a bad job". <ref name=":0" /> Emails later suggested he was aware of privacy risks but prioritized growth.<ref name=":2" />

*Deceptive Practices: The FTC found Facebook violated a 2012 consent decree by misleading users about data sharing. <ref>{{Cite news |last=Rushe |first=Dominic |date=June 12, 2019 |title=Facebook emails seem to show Zuckerberg knew of privacy issues, report claims |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jun/12/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-privacy-emails-report |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Attorney General Racine’s lawsuit accused Zuckerberg of personally enabling policies that exposed user data. <ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=AG Racine Sues Mark Zuckerberg for Failing to Protect Millions of Users' Data, Misleading Privacy Practices |url=https://oag.dc.gov/release/ag-racine-sues-mark-zuckerberg-failing-protect}}</ref>

*Opaque Controls: Privacy settings are buried and confusing. As critics note, "Offering tools doesn’t help if they’re hard to find", such as ad-targeting controls are hidden under unrelated menus.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Barrett |first=Brian |date=April 10, 2010 |title=Mark Zuckerberg's Privacy Shell Game |url=https://www.wired.com/story/mark-zuckerbergs-privacy-shell-game/ |work=Wired}}</ref>

**"Zuckerberg’s Law": He predicted users would share twice as much data yearly, pushing openness over privacy.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />

**Data Hoarding: Despite [[General Data Protection Regulation]] (GDPR) style pledges, Facebook resists limits on data collection. Such as opposing regulations that would curb microtargeting.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wheeler |first=Tom |date=2019-04-03 |title=Mark Zuckerberg’s call for internet rules only goes part way |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/mark-zuckerbergs-call-for-internet-rules-only-goes-part-way/ |website=The Brookings Institution}}</ref>

==Major consumer protection incidents==

The Cambridge Analytica scandal came to light when a former employee, Christopher Wylie, leaked internal documents to journalists demonstrating uninformed consent of personal data collection of up to 87 million Facebook profiles for political advertising purposes through Facebook's Open Graph Platform and Facebook Application "This is Your Digital Life" developed by data scientist Aleksandr Kogan at Global Science Research.<ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/10/facebook-cambridge-analytica-a-timeline-of-the-data-hijacking-scandal.html "Facebook-Cambridge Analytica: A timeline of the data hijacking scandal"] - cnbc.com - accessed 2025-02-03</ref> The appropriated personal data was used in the US 2016 Presidency for Ted Cruz's and Donald Trump's campaigns.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/cambridge-analytica-facebook-scandal-trump-cruz-operatives-2018-3 "There's an open secret about Cambridge Analytica in the political world: It doesn't have the 'secret sauce' it claims"] - businessinsider.com - accessed 2025-02-03 </ref>

In 2011, the FTC found Facebook guilty of deceptive practices, such as sharing data with third-party apps without user consent and misrepresenting privacy controls. Despite a 20 year consent order, Facebook continued to face allegations of similar violations, including post-2018 complaints about lax data policies.

==Current status==

As of June 2025, Mark Zuckerberg remains the CEO and Chairman of Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook). He continues to lead the company's focus on the ''metaverse'', artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies.

*Regulatory and Legal Issues''':''' Zuckerberg and Meta still face scrutiny over data privacy, antitrust concerns, and content moderation policies worldwide.