Facebook on Thursday has changed its corporate name as it confronts wide-ranging scrutiny of the real-world harms from its various platforms after a whistleblower leaked hundreds of internal documents.
It’s new name is called Meta.
Facebook Chairman and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced this on Thursday,
He noted that it’s part of a major rebranding.
The change does not apply to its individual platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, only the parent company that owns them.
The change however will demote Facebook’s namesake service to being just one of the company’s subsidiaries, alongside Instagram and WhatsApp, rather than the overarching brand.
The move follows a series of negative stories about Facebook, based on documents leaked by Frances Haugen, an ex-employee.
Haugen had accused the company of putting “profits over safety”.
The rebranding happened amid criticisms from American lawmakers and regulators over its market power, its algorithmic decisions and the policing of abuses on its platforms.
