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WHY FACEBOOK WILL NEVER DIE
Despite scandals over fake news and data privacy, the social network is unlikely to disappear any time soon
By Bryan Lufkin
I was a freshman at Indiana University in 2004 when I first heard about a new website for people my age. I was chatting with some friends on AOL Instant Messenger in my dorm room, at the start of a new semester.
“Have you heard of The Facebook?” a couple of them asked. “You should sign up. It’s this new site for college kids.”
Fast forward to April 2018: founder and CEO of “The Facebook,” Mark Zuckerberg, sat before US Congress trying to convince lawmakers his social network, initially set up as a way for students to stay in touch with each other, does not pose a threat to the stability of Western democracy and does not treat its users’ personal information with disdain.
The hearing saw him admit that his company had not done enough to prevent the service it provides being used for fake news, foreign interference in elections and data leaks. In March, it emerged that a political consultancy called Cambridge Analytica used data harvested from millions of Facebook users without their consent. The scandal rocked Facebook to its core and has forced its founder to reconsider how it does business.
In the latest round of his grand apology tour Zuckerberg also faced the European Parliament and faced even tougher questioning, just as Europe is poised to introduce new laws that will give it some of the strictest data privacy rules in the world: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
It’s a far cry from what my college pals and I used the site for 14 years ago: sending a friend request crushes from maths class or clicking through photos of last Friday’s frat party. As one of the first few thousands of users, I find Facebook’s evolution and societal function both equally fascinating and disturbing.
How has a university directory evolved to last as long as it has? Why did it flourish while competitors like MySpace failed? Why have so many users stayed, despite constant interface changes and scandals?
The biggest question of all that gnaws at the back of my mind is whether there is any stopping Facebook in the future? It looks increasingly like the answer is no.
Disponível em: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180523-why-facebook-will-never-die. Em 26/05/18. Adaptado.
According to the text, is there any possibility of the disappearance of the Facebook?
