Facebook is planning to rebrand itself with a new name as the tech giant comes under fire from regulators around the world over its business practices.
But a new name won't fix their reputation.CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised to bring Facebook back from the brink during an appearance before Congress. He made it clear that he understands the enormous responsibility the company has as it faces growing criticism from governments and those who question its role.
"The world feels anxious and divided, and Facebook has a lot of work to do — whether it's protecting our community from abuse and hate, defending against interference by nation states, or making sure that time spent on Facebook is time well spent," Zuckerberg told the joint session of the Senate judiciary and commerce committees.
The company said it would use artificial intelligence to proactively identify posts that include hate speech and other objectionable material, allowing Facebook to get rid of them before anyone sees them. The tech giant also hired an additional 3,000 people to monitor hate speech.
Zuckerberg's appearance on Capitol Hill is the latest public appearance for a high-profile tech executive facing bipartisan criticism for how their companies handle user privacy and content. In response to the criticism, Facebook, Google, and Twitter have pledged to hire more people and invest more in security and transparency.
Some of the pressure is coming from Washington. In January, Democrats in Congress released a long list of demands they want to see from the companies and their CEOs, and the demands included implementing new privacy measures, letting users opt out of targeted advertising, and providing more details about how their user data is shared and used.
The companies were already under fire from Congress for the 2016 election meddling during the 2016 election. Lawmakers said at the time they wanted to know more about Russian involvement in the run-up to the election and, specifically.
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Stewart Reese
Silicon Valley Newsroom
Stewart Reese
Silicon Valley Newsroom
