117-735: Mark Elliot Zuckerberg ( / ˈ z ʌ k ər b ɜːr ɡ / ; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms , of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling shareholder. Zuckerberg has been the subject of multiple lawsuits regarding the creation and ownership of the website as well as issues such as user privacy. Zuckerberg briefly attended Harvard College , where he launched Facebook in February 2004 with his roommates Eduardo Saverin , Andrew McCollum , Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes . Zuckerberg took
234-463: A Bachelor of Arts in economics. He is a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity (Eta Psi chapter of Harvard University). During his junior year at Harvard, Saverin met fellow Harvard undergraduate, sophomore Mark Zuckerberg . Noting the lack of a dedicated social networking website for Harvard students, the two worked together to launch Facebook in 2004. They each agreed to invest $ 1,000 in
351-420: A Facebook post, stating that the lawsuits were a good faith effort to pay the partial owners of the land their "fair share". When he learned that Hawaiian land ownership law differs from that of the other 49 states, he dropped the lawsuits. Zuckerberg stated that he regretted not taking the time to understand the process and its history before moving ahead. On April 10 and 11, 2018, Zuckerberg testified before
468-587: A US$ 1 billion suit was filed against the company alleging that it permitted Hamas to use it to perform assaults that cost the lives of four people. Facebook released its blueprints of Surround 360 camera on GitHub under an open-source license . In September, it won an Emmy for its animated short "Henry". In October, Facebook announced a fee-based communications tool called Workplace that aims to "connect everyone" at work. Users can create profiles, see updates from co-workers on their news feed, stream live videos and participate in secure group chats. Following
585-413: A "good guy". The film is based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich , which the book's publicist once described as "big juicy fun" rather than "reportage". The film's screenwriter Aaron Sorkin told New York magazine , "I don't want my fidelity to be the truth; I want it to be storytelling", adding, "What is the big deal about accuracy purely for accuracy's sake, and can we not have
702-496: A "reputation as a programming prodigy". He studied psychology and computer science , resided in Kirkland House , and belonged to Alpha Epsilon Pi . In his second year, he wrote a program that he called CourseMatch, which allowed users to make class selection decisions based on the choices of other students and help them form study groups. Later, he created a different program he initially called Facemash that let students select
819-578: A 1.6% share of Facebook for $ 240 million ($ 353 million in 2023 dollars ), giving Facebook a total implied value of around $ 15 billion ($ 22 billion in 2023 dollars ). Microsoft's purchase included rights to place international advertisements. In May 2007, at the first f8 developers conference, Facebook announced the launch of the Facebook Developer Platform , providing a framework for software developers to create applications that interact with core Facebook features . By
936-688: A German social network that was alleged to be visually and functionally similar to Facebook. In October 2008, Facebook announced that its international headquarters would locate in Dublin , Ireland. A January 2009 Compete.com study ranked Facebook the most used social networking service by worldwide monthly active users . China blocked Facebook in 2009 following the Ürümqi riots . In 2009, Yuri Milner 's DST (which later split into DST Global and Mail.ru Group ), alongside Uzbek Russian metals magnate Alisher Usmanov , invested $ 200 million in Facebook when it
1053-668: A January 2024 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on child safety and social media platforms, Zuckerberg, along with other tech CEOs, were questioned about their companies' practices. During the hearing, he apologized to the families of children who were victims of online abuse and harm. Court documents allege that Zuckerberg personally rejected Meta's proposals to improve teenagers' mental health. He consistently opposed efforts to enhance well-being on Facebook and Instagram, overriding senior executives such as Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Global Affairs President Nick Clegg , as revealed in an ongoing lawsuit. Internal communications disclosed in
1170-485: A PR firm that had originally been hired to monitor press coverage of the company to address concerns primarily regarding Russian meddling , then mishandling of user data by Cambridge Analytica , hate speech on Facebook, and calls for regulation. Company spokesman Tim Miller stated that a goal for tech firms should be to "have positive content pushed out about your company and negative content that's being pushed out about your competitor". Definers claimed that George Soros
1287-592: A Q&A session at Tsinghua University in Beijing , China , on October 23, where he attempted to converse in Mandarin. Zuckerberg hosted visiting Chinese politician Lu Wei , known as the "Internet czar" for his influence in China's online policy, on December 8. As of 2015 , Facebook's algorithm was revised in an attempt to filter out false or misleading content, such as fake news stories and hoaxes. It relied on users who flag
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#17328481812211404-837: A Singaporean logistics company that engages in last mile parcel delivery in Southeast Asia. In addition to forming B Capital, in early 2020, Saverin invested in Antler , an early-stage VC fund and startup accelerator founded by his friend and Harvard classmate, Magnus Grimeland. Saverin is played by Andrew Garfield in the film The Social Network , which is based on Ben Mezrich's The Accidental Billionaires . Saverin immigrated to Singapore in 2009. Saverin and Elaine Andriejanssen, an Indonesian national of Chinese descent and with partial Dutch ancestry, became engaged on March 27, 2014, and were married on June 25, 2015. They met while they were both studying at their respective universities in
1521-484: A dating platform, end-to-end encryption on its platforms, and allowing users on Messenger to communicate directly with WhatsApp and Instagram users. On July 31, 2019, Facebook announced a partnership with University of California, San Francisco to build a non-invasive, wearable device that lets people type by simply imagining themselves talking. On August 13, 2019, it was revealed that Facebook had enlisted hundreds of contractors to create and obtain transcripts of
1638-543: A lawsuit in 2004; it was dismissed on a technicality on March 28, 2007. It was refiled soon thereafter in a federal court in Boston . Facebook countersued in regards to Social Butterfly, a project put out by The Winklevoss Chang Group , an alleged partnership between ConnectU and i2hub . On June 25, 2008, the case settled and Facebook agreed to transfer over 1.2 million common shares and pay $ 20 million in cash. In November 2007, confidential court documents were posted on
1755-493: A live Q&A session at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park on December 11, 2014. The founder and CEO explained that he does not believe Facebook is a waste of time, because it facilitates social engagement, and participating in a public session was so that he could "learn how to better serve the community". Zuckerberg receives a one-dollar salary as CEO of Facebook. In June 2016, Business Insider named Zuckerberg one of
1872-521: A new website. On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched "Thefacebook", originally located at thefacebook.com, in partnership with his roommates Eduardo Saverin , Andrew McCollum , Dustin Moskovitz , and Chris Hughes . An earlier inspiration for Facebook may have come from Phillips Exeter Academy , the prep school from which Zuckerberg graduated in 2002. It published its own student directory, "The Photo Address Book", which students referred to as "The Facebook". Such photo directories were an important part of
1989-408: A radical Islamist imam believed to be the mastermind behind the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings , preached on a pro- ISIL Facebook account, known as "Al-Ghuraba" media. On May 2, 2019, at F8, the company announced its new vision with the tagline "the future is private". A redesign of the website and mobile app was introduced, dubbed as "FB5". The event also featured plans for improving groups,
2106-529: A ranking. The site went up over a weekend, but by Monday morning, the college shut it down, because its popularity had overwhelmed one of Harvard's network switches preventing students from accessing the Internet. In addition, many students complained that their photos were being used without permission. Zuckerberg apologized publicly, and the student paper ran articles stating that his site was "completely improper". In January 2004, Zuckerberg began writing code for
2223-513: A reporter that Ceglia's counsel had unsuccessfully sought an out-of-court settlement. On October 26, 2012, federal authorities arrested Ceglia, charging him with mail and wire fraud and of "tampering with, destroying and fabricating evidence in a scheme to defraud the Facebook founder of billions of dollars". Ceglia is accused of fabricating emails to make it appear that he and Zuckerberg discussed details about an early version of Facebook, although after examining their emails, investigators found there
2340-436: A share price of US$ 38 ($ 50.00 in 2023 dollars ). The company was valued at $ 104 billion ($ 138 billion in 2023 dollars ), the largest valuation to that date. The IPO raised $ 16 billion ($ 21.2 billion in 2023 dollars ), the third-largest in U.S. history, after Visa Inc. in 2008 and AT&T Wireless in 2000. Based on its 2012 income of $ 5 billion ($ 6.64 billion in 2023 dollars ), Facebook joined
2457-405: A six-month cycle, Facebook committed to work with ten to 15 data-driven startups there. On April 18, Facebook announced the beta launch of Facebook Spaces at its annual F8 developer conference. Facebook Spaces is a virtual reality version of Facebook for Oculus VR goggles. In a virtual and shared space, users can access a curated selection of 360-degree photos and videos using their avatar, with
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#17328481812212574-648: A socially inept nerd is overstated ... It is fiction ...". He likewise dismissed the film's assertion that he "would deliberately betray a friend". Zuckerberg voiced himself on an episode of The Simpsons titled " Loan-a Lisa ", which first aired on October 3, 2010. In the episode, Lisa Simpson and her friend Nelson encounter Zuckerberg at an entrepreneurs' convention. Zuckerberg tells Lisa that she does not need to graduate from college to be wildly successful, referencing Bill Gates and Richard Branson as examples. On October 9, 2010, Saturday Night Live lampooned Zuckerberg and Facebook. Andy Samberg portrayed
2691-521: A story accordingly. Facebook maintained that satirical content should not be intercepted. The algorithm was accused of maintaining a " filter bubble ", where material the user disagrees with and posts with few likes would be deprioritized. In November, Facebook extended paternity leave from 4 weeks to 4 months. On April 12, 2016, Zuckerberg outlined his 10-year vision, which rested on three main pillars: artificial intelligence , increased global connectivity, and virtual and augmented reality . In July,
2808-826: A subsidiary named Lianshu Science & Technology in Hangzhou City , China, with $ 30 million ($ 36.4 million in 2023 dollars ) of capital. All its shares are held by Facebook Hong. Approval of the registration of the subsidiary was then withdrawn, due to a disagreement between officials in Zhejiang province and the Cyberspace Administration of China . On July 26, Facebook became the first company to lose over $ 100 billion ($ 121 billion in 2023 dollars ) worth of market capitalization in one day, dropping from nearly $ 630 billion to $ 510 billion after disappointing sales reports. On July 31, Facebook said that
2925-421: A surprise guest appearance on Saturday Night Live , which was hosted by Jesse Eisenberg. They both said it was the first time they had met. Eisenberg asked Zuckerberg, who had been critical of his portrayal by the film, what he thought of the movie. Zuckerberg replied, "It was interesting." In a subsequent interview about their meeting, Eisenberg explained that he was "nervous to meet him, because I had spent now,
3042-586: A website he shared with his classmates. A " face book " is a student directory featuring photos and personal information. In 2003, Harvard had only a paper version along with private online directories. Zuckerberg told The Harvard Crimson , "Everyone's been talking a lot about a universal face book within Harvard. ... I think it's kind of silly that it would take the University a couple of years to get around to it. I can do it better than they can, and I can do it in
3159-511: A week." In January 2004, Zuckerberg coded a new website, known as "TheFacebook", inspired by a Crimson editorial about Facemash, stating, "It is clear that the technology needed to create a centralized Website is readily available ... the benefits are many." Zuckerberg met with Harvard student Eduardo Saverin , and each of them agreed to invest $ 1,000 ($ 1,613 in 2023 dollars ) in the site. On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched "TheFacebook", originally located at thefacebook.com. Six days after
3276-475: A year and a half thinking about him ...". He added, "Mark has been so gracious about something that's really so uncomfortable ... The fact that he would do SNL and make fun of the situation is so sweet and so generous. It's the best possible way to handle something that, I think, could otherwise be very uncomfortable." According to David Kirkpatrick , former technology editor at Fortune magazine and author of The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of
3393-410: Is a board member of the solar sail spacecraft development project Breakthrough Starshot , which he co-founded with Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking in 2016. Harvard students Cameron Winklevoss , Tyler Winklevoss , and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of intentionally making them believe he would help them build a social network called HarvardConnection.com (later called ConnectU ). They filed
3510-653: Is intertwined with the aim of the Internet.org project, whereby Facebook, with the support of other technology companies, seeks to increase the number of people connected to the internet. Zuckerberg was the keynote speaker at the 2014 Mobile World Congress (MWC), held in Barcelona , Spain, in March 2014, which was attended by 75,000 delegates. Various media sources highlighted the connection between Facebook's focus on mobile technology and Zuckerberg's speech, stating that mobile represents
3627-505: Is just not an attractive idea to me." The same year, speaking at Y Combinator 's Startup School course at Stanford University , Zuckerberg made a controversial assertion that "young people are just smarter" and that other entrepreneurs should bias towards hiring young people. He restated these goals to Wired magazine in 2010, "The thing I really care about is the mission, making the world open." Earlier, in April 2009, Zuckerberg had sought
Mark Zuckerberg - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-408: Is refusing to co-operate at all ... We basically now need to sign over our intellectual property to a new company and just take the lawsuit ... I'm just going to cut him out and then settle with him. And he'll get something I'm sure, but he deserves something ... He has to sign stuff for investments and he's lagging and I can't take the lag ." Zuckerberg's attorney warned Zuckerberg that
3861-481: Is that you can build something really good in a night", Zuckerberg told Levy. "And that's part of the personality of Facebook now ... It's definitely very core to my personality." In 2007, Zuckerberg was added to MIT Technology Review 's TR35 list as one of the top 35 innovators in the world under the age of 35. Vanity Fair magazine named Zuckerberg number 1 on its 2010 list of the Top 100 "most influential people of
3978-457: The 2016 U.S. presidential election , Facebook announced that it would combat fake news by using fact checkers from sites like FactCheck.org and Associated Press (AP), making reporting hoaxes easier through crowdsourcing, and disrupting financial incentives for abusers. On January 17, 2017, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg planned to open Station F, a startup incubator campus in Paris , France . On
4095-910: The Fortune 500 list for the first time in May 2013, ranked 462. The shares set a first-day record for trading volume of an IPO (460 million shares). The IPO was controversial given the immediate price declines that followed, and was the subject of lawsuits, while SEC and FINRA both launched investigations. Zuckerberg announced at the start of October 2012 that Facebook had one billion monthly active users, including 600 million mobile users, 219 billion photo uploads and 140 billion friend connections. On October 1, 2012, Zuckerberg visited Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow to stimulate social media innovation in Russia and to boost Facebook's position in
4212-584: The Huffington Post reported that Facebook's PR agency had paid someone to tweak Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg 's Misplaced Pages page, as well as adding a page for the global head of PR, Caryn Marooney. In March 2019, the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand used Facebook to stream live footage of the attack as it unfolded. Facebook took 29 minutes to detect the livestreamed video, which
4329-804: The Information Age ". Zuckerberg ranked number 23 on the Vanity Fair 100 list in 2009. In 2010, Zuckerberg was chosen as number 16 in New Statesman ' s annual survey of the world's 50 most influential figures. In a 2011 interview with PBS shortly after the death of Steve Jobs , Zuckerberg said that Jobs had advised him on how to create a management team at Facebook that was "focused on building as high quality and good things as you are". On October 1, 2012, Zuckerberg met with then Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow to stimulate social media innovation in Russia and to boost Facebook's position in
4446-613: The United States . This new application allows users to integrate their Instagram posts in their dating profile. Eduardo Saverin Eduardo Luiz Saverin ( / ˈ s æ v ər ɪ n / SAV -ər-in , Brazilian Portuguese: [eduˈaʁdu luˈis saveˈɾĩ] ; born March 19, 1982) is a Brazilian billionaire entrepreneur and angel investor, known for having co-founded Facebook . In 2012, he owned about 2% of Facebook shares, valued at approximately $ 2 billion at
4563-544: The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation regarding the usage of personal data by Facebook in relation to the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal . He called the whole affair a breach of trust between Aleksandr Kogan , Cambridge Analytica , and Facebook. Zuckerberg refused requests to appear to give evidence on the matter to a Parliamentary committee in
4680-511: The company public in May 2012 with majority shares. He became the world's youngest self-made billionaire in 2008, at age 23, and has consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest individuals . He has also used his funds to organize multiple donations, including the establishment of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative . A film depicting Zuckerberg's early career, legal troubles and initial success with Facebook, The Social Network ,
4797-458: The face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities. Since 2006, Facebook allows everyone to register from 13 years old, except in the case of a handful of nations, where the age limit is 14 years. As of December 2022 , Facebook claimed almost 3 billion monthly active users. As of October 2023, Facebook ranked as
Mark Zuckerberg - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-480: The second annual f8 developers conference on July 23, 2008, the number of applications on the platform had grown to 33,000, and the number of registered developers had exceeded 400,000. The website won awards such as placement into the "Top 100 Classic Websites" by PC Magazine in 2007, and winning the "People's Voice Award" from the Webby Awards in 2008. In early 2008, Facebook became EBITDA profitable, but
5031-737: The third-most-visited website in the world , with 22.56% of its traffic coming from the United States. It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s. Facebook can be accessed from devices with Internet connectivity, such as personal computers , tablets and smartphones . After registering, users can create a profile revealing personal information about themselves. They can post text, photos and multimedia which are shared with any other users who have agreed to be their friend or, with different privacy settings , publicly. Users can also communicate directly with each other with Messenger , join common-interest groups, and receive notifications on
5148-625: The "Top 10 Business Visionaries Creating Value for the World" along with Elon Musk and Sal Khan , due to the fact that he and his wife "pledged to give away 99% of their wealth-then estimated at $ 55.0 billion". On May 25, 2017, at Harvard's 366th commencement day, Zuckerberg, after giving a commencement speech , received an honorary degree from Harvard. In January 2019, Zuckerberg laid plans to integrate an end-to-end encrypted system for three major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp . On August 14, 2020, Facebook integrated
5265-480: The "mythical place" of Silicon Valley , the center of computer technology in California. They had already turned down offers by major corporations to buy the company. In an interview in 2007, Zuckerberg explained his reasoning: "It's not because of the amount of money. For me and my colleagues, the most important thing is that we create an open information flow for people. Having media corporations owned by conglomerates
5382-455: The Company that is Connecting the World (2011), "the film is only 40% true ... he is not snide and sarcastic in a cruel way, the way Zuckerberg is played in the movie." He says that "a lot of the factual incidents are accurate, but many are distorted and the overall impression is false", and concludes that primarily "his motivations were to try and come up with a new way to share information on
5499-514: The Computer Revolution , wrote that Zuckerberg "clearly thinks of himself as a hacker ". Zuckerberg said that "it's OK to break things" "to make them better". Facebook instituted " hackathons " held every six to eight weeks where participants would have one night to conceive of and complete a project. The company provided music, food, and beer at the hackathons, and many Facebook staff members, including Zuckerberg, regularly attended. "The idea
5616-702: The Digital Forensic Research Lab Facebook partners with the Atlantic Council , a NATO -affiliated think tank. In November, Facebook launched smart displays branded Portal and Portal Plus (Portal+). They support Amazon 's Alexa (intelligent personal assistant service). The devices include video chat function with Facebook Messenger. In August 2018, a lawsuit was filed in Oakland, California claiming that Facebook created fake accounts in order to inflate its user data and appeal to advertisers in
5733-402: The Internet". Although the film portrayed Zuckerberg's creation of Facebook in order to elevate his stature after not getting into any of the elite final clubs at Harvard, Zuckerberg stated that he had no interest in joining the clubs. Kirkpatrick agreed that the impression implied by the film is "false". Karel Baloun, a former senior engineer at Facebook, noted that the "image of Zuckerberg as
5850-465: The Massachusetts-initiated legal action depict Zuckerberg's resistance to better protect over 30 million teens on Instagram in the U.S., highlighting his substantial influence on Meta's decisions impacting billions of users. These documents also shed light on occasional tensions between Zuckerberg and other Meta officials advocating for improved user well-being. A movie based on Zuckerberg and
5967-517: The Russian market. On January 15, 2013, Facebook announced Facebook Graph Search , which provides users with a "precise answer", rather than a link to an answer by leveraging data present on its site. Facebook emphasized that the feature would be "privacy-aware", returning results only from content already shared with the user. On April 3, 2013, Facebook unveiled Facebook Home , a user-interface layer for Android devices offering greater integration with
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#17328481812216084-407: The Russian market. Russia's communications minister tweeted that Medvedev persuaded Zuckerberg to open a research center in Moscow instead of trying to lure away Russian programmers. In 2012, Facebook had roughly 9 million users in Russia, while domestic clone VK had around 34 million. Rebecca Van Dyck, Facebook's head of consumer marketing, said that 85 million American Facebook users were exposed to
6201-686: The U.S. state of Massachusetts , Saverin at Harvard and Andriejanssen at Tufts . Andriejanssen, who works in the finance industry, comes from a wealthy family that runs several businesses in Indonesia. Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship in September 2011, thereby avoiding an estimated US$ 700 million in capital gains taxes. This generated media attention and controversy. Saverin claimed that he renounced his citizenship because of his "interest in working and living in Singapore", and denied that he left
6318-482: The US Capitol Building , and its efforts to combat misinformation and hate speech. Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook had a responsibility to address these issues and outlined the steps that the company is taking to improve its policies and practices. The hearing was part of a broader effort by Congress to hold tech companies accountable for their role in shaping public discourse and protecting user privacy. In
6435-656: The United Kingdom. On October 1, 2020, the US Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted to issue subpoenas to the CEOs of three top tech firms, including Zuckerberg, Google 's Sundar Pichai and Twitter 's Jack Dorsey . The subpoenas aimed to force the CEOs to testify about the legal immunity the law affords tech platforms under Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934. US Republicans argued that
6552-460: The United States and Canada . In mid-2004, Napster co-founder and entrepreneur Sean Parker —an informal advisor to Zuckerberg—became company president. In June 2004, the company moved to Palo Alto, California . Sean Parker called Reid Hoffman to fund Facebook. However, Reid Hoffman was too busy launching LinkedIn so he set Facebook up with PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel , who gave Facebook its first investment later that month. In 2005,
6669-537: The acquisition of FB.com one of the ten highest domain sales in history. In February 2011, Facebook announced plans to move its headquarters to the former Sun Microsystems campus in Menlo Park, California. In March 2011, it was reported that Facebook was removing about 20,000 profiles daily for violations such as spam , graphic content and underage use, as part of its efforts to boost cyber security . Statistics showed that Facebook reached one trillion page views in
6786-678: The activities of their Facebook friends and the pages they follow. The subject of numerous controversies , Facebook has often been criticized over issues such as user privacy (as with the Cambridge Analytica data scandal ), political manipulation (as with the 2016 U.S. elections ) and mass surveillance. Facebook has also been subject to criticism over psychological effects such as addiction and low self-esteem , and various controversies over content such as fake news , conspiracy theories , copyright infringement , and hate speech . Commentators have accused Facebook of willingly facilitating
6903-403: The advice of former Netscape CFO Peter Currie regarding financing strategies for Facebook. On July 21, 2010, Zuckerberg reported that Facebook had reached the 500-million-user mark. When asked whether Facebook could earn more income from advertising as a result of its phenomenal growth, he explained: I guess we could ... If you look at how much of our page is taken up with ads compared to
7020-414: The audio messages of users. This was especially common of Facebook Messenger, where the contractors frequently listened to and transcribed voice messages of users. After this was first reported on by Bloomberg News , Facebook released a statement confirming the report to be true, but also stated that the monitoring program was now suspended. On September 5, 2019, Facebook launched Facebook Dating in
7137-407: The average search query. The average for us is a little less than 10 percent of the pages and the average for search is about 20 percent taken up with ads ... That's the simplest thing we could do. But we aren't like that. We make enough money. Right, I mean, we are keeping things running; we are growing at the rate we want to. In 2010, Steven Levy , who wrote the 1984 book Hackers: Heroes of
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#17328481812217254-410: The best-looking person from a choice of photos. Arie Hasit, Zuckerberg's roommate at the time, explained: We had books called "Face Books", which included the names and pictures of everyone who lived in the student dorms. At first, he built a site and placed two pictures or pictures of two males and two females. Visitors to the site had to choose who was "hotter" and according to the votes there would be
7371-409: The chat systems for Instagram and Messenger on both iOS and Android devices. The update encouraged cross-communication between Instagram and Facebook users. A month after Zuckerberg launched Facebook in February 2004, i2hub , another campus-only service, created by Wayne Chang and focusing on peer-to-peer file sharing, was launched. At the time, both i2hub and Facebook were gaining the attention of
7488-508: The company affirmed Saverin's title as co-founder of Facebook. Saverin signed a non-disclosure contract after the settlement. In 2010, Saverin co-founded Aporta, an online portal for charity. In 2015, Saverin established his venture capital firm, B Capital, investing in Southeast Asia and India. In 2016, Saverin's fund closed initial deals of over $ 140 million in Asia, including Ninja Van ,
7605-416: The company dropped "the" from its name after purchasing the domain name Facebook.com for US$ 200,000 ($ 312,012 in 2023 dollars ). The domain had belonged to AboutFace Corporation. In May 2005, Accel Partners invested $ 12.7 million ($ 19.8 million in 2023 dollars ) in Facebook, and Jim Breyer added $ 1 million ($ 1.56 million in 2023 dollars ) of his own money. A high-school version of
7722-527: The company had deleted 17 accounts related to the 2018 U.S. midterm elections . On September 19, Facebook announced that, for news distribution outside the United States, it would work with U.S. funded democracy promotion organizations, International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute , which are loosely affiliated with the Republican and Democratic parties. Through
7839-430: The developing world. The company celebrated its 10th anniversary during the week of February 3, 2014. In January 2014, over one billion users connected via a mobile device. As of June, mobile accounted for 62% of advertising revenue, an increase of 21% from the previous year. By September Facebook's market capitalization had exceeded $ 200 billion ($ 257 billion in 2023 dollars ). Zuckerberg participated in
7956-486: The dilution might trigger a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty . Facebook filed a lawsuit against Saverin, arguing that the stock-purchase agreement Saverin signed in October 2005 was invalid. Saverin then filed a suit against Zuckerberg, alleging Zuckerberg spent Facebook's money (Saverin's money) on personal expenses over the summer. In 2009, both suits were settled out of court. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed and
8073-517: The edge of the box. Following a campaign by 100 advocacy groups, Facebook agreed to update its policy on hate speech. The campaign highlighted content promoting domestic violence and sexual violence against women and led 15 advertisers to withdraw, including Nissan UK, House of Burlesque, and Nationwide UK. The company initially stated, "while it may be vulgar and offensive, distasteful content on its own does not violate our policies". It took action on May 29. On June 12, Facebook announced that it
8190-583: The enforcement of China's online policy, at Facebook's headquarters on December 8, 2014. The meeting occurred after Zuckerberg participated in a Q&A session at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, on October 23, 2014, where he conversed in Mandarin Chinese ; although Facebook is banned in China, Zuckerberg is highly regarded among the people and was at the university to help fuel the nation's burgeoning entrepreneur sector. Zuckerberg fielded questions during
8307-788: The family immigrated to the US, settling in Miami , Florida. Saverin attended Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami. He then attended Harvard University , where he was a resident of Eliot House , a member of the Phoenix S.K. Club , and president of the Harvard Investment Association. While an undergraduate at Harvard, Saverin used his interest in meteorology to predict hurricane patterns and made $ 300,000 via investment in oil futures. In 2006, Saverin graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with
8424-503: The first day of the Home promotional campaign on April 6, 2013. On August 19, 2013, The Washington Post reported that Zuckerberg's Facebook profile was hacked by an unemployed web developer. At the 2013 TechCrunch Disrupt conference, held in September, Zuckerberg stated that he was working towards registering the 5 billion people who were not connected to the Internet as of the conference on Facebook. Zuckerberg then explained that this
8541-455: The founding years of Facebook, The Social Network , was released on October 1, 2010, starring Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg. After Zuckerberg was told about the film, he responded, "I just wished that nobody made a movie of me while I was still alive." Also, after the film's script was leaked on the Internet and it was apparent that the film would not portray Zuckerberg in a wholly positive light, he stated that he wanted to establish himself as
8658-459: The future of the company. Zuckerberg's speech expands upon the goal that he raised at the TechCrunch conference in September 2013, whereby he is working towards expanding Internet coverage into developing countries. Alongside other American technology figures such as Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook , Zuckerberg hosted visiting Chinese politician Lu Wei , known as the "Internet czar" for his influence in
8775-529: The issue with the United Nations General Assembly . In June 2010, Paul Ceglia, the owner of a wood pellet fuel company in Allegany County, upstate New York , filed suit against Zuckerberg, claiming 84 percent ownership of Facebook and seeking monetary damages. According to Ceglia, he and Zuckerberg signed a contract on April 28, 2003, that an initial fee of $ 1,000 entitled Ceglia to 50% of
8892-465: The launch date. The project faced significant opposition in India, where activists said its limited internet ran counter to the principle of net neutrality ; Zuckerberg responded by saying that a limited internet was better than no internet. Internet.org was shut down in India in February 2016, although Zuckerberg later met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss further possibilities. Zuckerberg
9009-506: The law unduly protected social media companies against allegations of anti-conservative censorship. On March 25, 2021, Zuckerberg testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee regarding Facebook's role in the spread of misinformation and hate speech on the platform. During the hearing, he was questioned about Facebook's handling of user data, its role in the January 6, 2021, attack on
9126-471: The month of June 2011, making it the most visited website tracked by DoubleClick . According to a Nielsen study, Facebook had in 2011 become the second-most accessed website in the U.S. behind Google . In March 2012, Facebook announced App Center, a store selling applications that operate via the website. The store was to be available on iPhones , Android devices, and for mobile web users. Facebook's initial public offering came on May 17, 2012, at
9243-436: The most widely shared political content on Facebook. In May 2018 at F8 , the company announced it would offer its own dating service. Shares in competitor Match Group fell by 22%. Facebook Dating includes privacy features and friends are unable to view their friends' dating profile. In July, Facebook was charged £500,000 by UK watchdogs for failing to respond to data erasure requests. On July 18, Facebook established
9360-473: The next-highest county, New York County (better known as Manhattan ), at roughly $ 110,000 a year ($ 145,986 in 2023 dollars ). Facebook joined Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) in October, as it launched. The A4AI is a coalition of public and private organizations that includes Google , Intel and Microsoft. Led by Sir Tim Berners-Lee , the A4AI seeks to make Internet access more affordable to ease access in
9477-437: The press and growing rapidly in users and publicity. In August 2004, Zuckerberg, Andrew McCollum, Adam D'Angelo , and Sean Parker launched a competing peer-to-peer file sharing service called Wirehog , a precursor to Facebook Platform applications, which was launched in 2007. In 2013, Zuckerberg launched Internet.org , which he described as an initiative to provide Internet access to the five billion people without it as of
9594-414: The process. In January 2019, the 10-year challenge was started asking users to post a photograph of themselves from 10 years ago (2009) and a more recent photo. Criticized for its role in vaccine hesitancy , Facebook announced in March 2019 that it would provide users with "authoritative information" on the topic of vaccines. A study published in the journal Vaccine of advertisements posted in
9711-411: The project. Zuckerberg, Moskovitz and the other co-founders moved to Palo Alto, California , where they leased a small house that served as an office. Over the summer, Zuckerberg met Peter Thiel , who invested in his company. They got their first office in mid-2004. According to Zuckerberg, the group planned to return to Harvard, but eventually decided to remain in California, where Zuckerberg appreciated
9828-521: The role of Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg himself was reported to have been amused, "I thought this was funny." Stephen Colbert awarded a "Medal of Fear" to Zuckerberg at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on October 30, 2010, "because he values his privacy much more than he values yours". Zuckerberg appeared in the climax of 2013 documentary film Terms and Conditions May Apply . The South Park episode " Franchise Prequel " mocked him. According to CNET , he
9945-565: The site launched in September 2005. Eligibility expanded to include employees of several companies, including Apple Inc. and Microsoft . In May 2006, Facebook hired its first intern, Julie Zhuo . After a month, Zhuo was hired as a full-time engineer. On September 26, 2006, Facebook opened to everyone at least 13 years old with a valid email address . By late 2007, Facebook had 100,000 pages on which companies promoted themselves. Organization pages began rolling out in May 2009. On October 24, 2007, Microsoft announced that it had purchased
10062-630: The site launched, Harvard seniors Cameron Winklevoss , Tyler Winklevoss , and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of intentionally misleading them into believing that he would help them build a social network called HarvardConnection.com . They claimed that he was instead using their ideas to build a competing product. The three complained to the Crimson and the newspaper began an investigation. They later sued Zuckerberg, settling in 2008 for 1.2 million shares (worth $ 300 million at Facebook's IPO , or $ 398 million in 2023 dollars ). Membership
10179-480: The site. HTC announced HTC First , a phone with Home pre-loaded. On April 15, 2013, Facebook announced an alliance across 19 states with the National Association of Attorneys General, to provide teenagers and parents with information on tools to manage social networking profiles. On April 19 Facebook modified its logo to remove the faint blue line at the bottom of the "F" icon. The letter F moved closer to
10296-400: The site. Later, Zuckerberg and Saverin each agreed to invest another $ 18,000 in the operation. As co-founder, Saverin held the role of chief financial officer and business manager. On May 15, 2012, Business Insider obtained and released an exclusive email from Zuckerberg detailing how he cut Saverin from Facebook and diluted his stake. Zuckerberg privately stated at the time, " Eduardo
10413-486: The spread of such content, as well as exaggerating its number of users to appeal to advertisers. Zuckerberg built a website called "Facemash" in 2003 while attending Harvard University . The site was comparable to Hot or Not and used "photos compiled from the online face books of nine Houses, placing two next to each other at a time and asking users to choose the 'hotter' person". Facemash attracted 450 visitors and 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours. The site
10530-451: The student social experience at many private schools. With them, students were able to list attributes such as their class years, their friends, and their telephone numbers. Six days after the site launched, three Harvard seniors, Cameron Winklevoss , Tyler Winklevoss , and Divya Narendra , accused Zuckerberg of intentionally misleading them into believing that he would help them build a social network called HarvardConnection.com , when he
10647-444: The support of the controller. Users can access their own photos and videos, along with media shared on their newsfeed. In September, Facebook announced it would spend up to US$ 1 billion on original shows for its Facebook Watch platform. On October 16, it acquired the anonymous compliment app tbh , announcing its intention to leave the app independent. In October 2017, Facebook expanded its work with Definers Public Affairs ,
10764-509: The third year in a row. The company announced 500 million users in July 2010. Half of the site's membership used Facebook daily, for an average of 34 minutes, while 150 million users accessed the site from mobile devices. A company representative called the milestone a "quiet revolution". In October 2010 groups were introduced. In November 2010, based on SecondMarket Inc. (an exchange for privately held companies' shares), Facebook's value
10881-624: The three filed a lawsuit against Zuckerberg that resulted in a settlement. The agreed settlement was for 1.2 million Facebook shares and $ 20 million in cash. Zuckerberg's Facebook started off as just a "Harvard thing" until he decided to spread it to other schools, enlisting the help of roommate and co-founder Dustin Moskovitz . They began with Columbia University , New York University , Stanford University , Dartmouth College , Cornell University , University of Pennsylvania , Brown University , and Yale University . Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard in his sophomore year in order to complete
10998-466: The three months prior to that found that 54% of the anti-vaccine advertisements on Facebook were placed by just two organisations funded by well-known anti-vaccination activists. The Children's Health Defense / World Mercury Project chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Stop Mandatory Vaccination , run by campaigner Larry Cook, posted 54% of the advertisements. The ads often linked to commercial products, such as natural remedies and books. On March 14,
11115-451: The time. Based in Singapore , he is the co-founder and co-CEO of the venture capital firm B Capital, and has also invested in early-stage startups such as Qwiki and Jumio . The richest Brazilian, with an estimated net worth of US$ 30.4 billion as of November 2024 , according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index , he is the 55th richest individual in the world. Eduardo Luiz Saverin
11232-518: The true be the enemy of the good?". Upon winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture on January 16, 2011, producer Scott Rudin thanked Facebook and Zuckerberg "for his willingness to allow us to use his life and work as a metaphor through which to tell a story about communication and the way we relate to each other". Sorkin, who won for Best Screenplay, retracted some of the impressions given in his script: In January 2011, Zuckerberg made
11349-442: The user's listening habits, which was posted to Slashdot and received a rating of 3 out of 5 from PC Magazine . The New Yorker once said of Zuckerberg, "some kids played computer games. Mark created them." While still in high school, he attended Mercy College taking a graduate computer course on Thursday evenings. The New Yorker noted that by the time Zuckerberg began classes at Harvard in 2002, he had already achieved
11466-461: The website of 02138 , a magazine that catered to Harvard alumni. They included Zuckerberg's Social Security number, his parents' home address, and his girlfriend's address. Although Facebook filed to have the documents removed, the judge ruled in favor of 02138 . In 2005, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin filed a lawsuit against Zuckerberg and Facebook, alleging that Zuckerberg had illegally spent Saverin's money on personal expenses. The lawsuit
11583-432: The website's revenue, as well as an additional 1% interest in the business per day after January 1, 2004, until website completion. Zuckerberg was developing other projects at the time, among which was Facemash , the predecessor to Facebook, but did not register the domain name thefacebook.com until January 1, 2004. The Facebook management dismissed the lawsuit as "completely frivolous". Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt told
11700-600: Was $ 41 billion ($ 57.3 billion in 2023 dollars ). The company had slightly surpassed eBay to become the third largest American web company after Google and Amazon.com . On November 15, 2010, Facebook announced it had acquired the domain name fb.com from the American Farm Bureau Federation for an undisclosed amount. On January 11, 2011, the Farm Bureau disclosed $ 8.5 million ($ 11.5 million in 2023 dollars ) in "domain sales income", making
11817-471: Was born in São Paulo to a wealthy Jewish-Brazilian family, which later moved to Rio de Janeiro. Saverin's father, Roberto Saverin, was a businessman working in clothing, shipping, energy, and real estate. His mother, Sandra, was a psychologist. He has two siblings. His Romanian-born grandfather, Eugenio Saverin (born Eugen Saverin), is the founder of Tip Top, a chain of children's clothing shops. In 1993,
11934-471: Was captain of the fencing team. Zuckerberg learned computer programming in his childhood. At about the age of eleven, he created "ZuckNet", a program that allowed computers at the family home and his father's dental office to communicate with each other. During Zuckerberg's high-school years, he worked to build a music player called the Synapse Media Player. The device used machine learning to learn
12051-454: Was eight minutes longer than it took police to arrest the gunman. About 1.3m copies of the video were blocked from Facebook but 300,000 copies were published and shared. Facebook has promised changes to its platform; spokesman Simon Dilner told Radio New Zealand that it could have done a better job. Several companies, including the ANZ and ASB banks, have stopped advertising on Facebook after the company
12168-473: Was hosted on Facebook. The investigation also named the anonymous German woman who created the contest. Sidiqque asked the country's police to contact Interpol to have Zuckerberg and the three others arrested for blasphemy . On May 19, 2010, Facebook's website was temporarily blocked in Pakistan until Facebook removed the contest from its website at the end of May. Sidiqque also asked its UN representative to raise
12285-444: Was initially restricted to students of Harvard College . Within a month, more than half the undergraduates had registered. Dustin Moskovitz , Andrew McCollum , and Chris Hughes joined Zuckerberg to help manage the growth of the website. In March 2004, Facebook expanded to Columbia , Stanford and Yale . It then became available to all Ivy League colleges, Boston University , NYU , MIT , and successively most universities in
12402-446: Was introducing clickable hashtags to help users follow trending discussions, or search what others are talking about on a topic. San Mateo County , California, became the top wage-earning county in the country after the fourth quarter of 2012 because of Facebook. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average salary was 107% higher than the previous year, at $ 168,000 a year ($ 222,961 in 2023 dollars ), more than 50% higher than
12519-491: Was no mention of Facebook in them. Some law firms withdrew from the case before it was initiated and others after Ceglia's arrest. In 2014 Zuckerberg purchased 700 acres of land on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi . In January 2017, Zuckerberg filed eight " quiet title and partition " lawsuits against hundreds of native Hawaiians to claim small tracts of land that they owned within his acreage. Zuckerberg responded to criticisms in
12636-407: Was not cash flow positive yet. On July 20, 2008, Facebook introduced "Facebook Beta", a significant redesign of its user interface on selected networks. The Mini-Feed and Wall were consolidated, profiles were separated into tabbed sections, and an effort was made to create a cleaner look. Facebook began migrating users to the new version in September 2008. In July 2008, Facebook sued StudiVZ ,
12753-485: Was portrayed as "a rosy-cheeked bully nerd who utters strange noises, makes peculiar kung fu gestures and turns up wherever he likes in people's houses". Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by American technology conglomerate Meta . Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin , Andrew McCollum , Dustin Moskovitz , and Chris Hughes , its name derives from
12870-723: Was released in 2010 and won multiple Academy Awards . His prominence and fast rise in the technology industry has prompted political and legal attention. Mark Elliot Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984, in White Plains, New York to psychiatrist Karen ( née Kempner ) and dentist Edward Zuckerberg. He and his three sisters (Arielle, Randi , and Donna ) were raised in a Reform Jewish household in Dobbs Ferry, New York . His great-grandparents were emigrants from Austria, Germany, and Poland. Zuckerberg initially attended Ardsley High School before transferring to Phillips Exeter Academy . He
12987-490: Was reportedly unaware at the time. In May 2009, Zuckerberg said of the $ 200 million Russian investment, "This investment is purely buffer for us. It is not something we needed to get to cash flow positive." In September 2009, Facebook became cash flow positive ahead of schedule after closing a roughly $ 200 million gap in operating profitability. In 2010, Facebook won the Crunchie "Best Overall Startup Or Product" award for
13104-421: Was sent to several campus group listservs , but was shut down a few days later by Harvard administration. Zuckerberg faced expulsion and was charged with breaching security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy. Ultimately, the charges were dropped. Zuckerberg expanded on this project that semester by creating a social study tool. He uploaded art images, each accompanied by a comments section, to
13221-414: Was settled out of court and, although terms of the settlement were sealed, the company affirmed Saverin's title as co-founder of Facebook, and Saverin agreed to stop talking to the press. In June 2010, then Pakistani Deputy Attorney General Muhammad Azhar Sidiqque launched a criminal investigation into Zuckerberg and Facebook co-founders Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes after a " Draw Muhammad " contest
13338-453: Was the force behind what appeared to be a broad anti-Facebook movement, and created other negative media, along with America Rising , that was picked up by larger media organisations like Breitbart News . Facebook cut ties with the agency in late 2018, following public outcry over their association. Posts originating from the Facebook page of Breitbart News , a media organization previously affiliated with Cambridge Analytica, were among
13455-421: Was using their ideas to build a competing product. The three complained to The Harvard Crimson , and the newspaper began an investigation in response. While Zuckerberg tried to convince the editors not to run the story, he also broke into two of the editors' email accounts—for which he made use of their private login data logs from TheFacebook. Following the official launch of the Facebook social media platform,
13572-632: Was valued at $ 10 billion. A separate stake was also acquired by Usmanov's USM Holdings on another occasion. According to the New York Times in 2013, "Mr. Usmanov and other Russian investors at one point owned nearly 10 percent of Facebook, though precise details of their ownership stakes are difficult to assess." It was later revealed in 2017 by the Paradise Papers that lending by Russian state-backed VTB Bank and Gazprom 's investment vehicle partially financed these 2009 investments, although Milner
13689-618: Was widely condemned by the public. Following the attack, Facebook began blocking white nationalist , white supremacist , and white separatist content, saying that they could not be meaningfully separated. Previously, Facebook had only blocked overtly supremacist content. The older policy had been condemned by civil rights groups, who described these movements as functionally indistinct. Further bans were made in mid-April 2019, banning several British far-right organizations and associated individuals from Facebook, and also banning praise or support for them. NTJ 's member Moulavi Zahran Hashim,
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