Mark Zuckerberg states Facebook is doubling down on personal privacy.
At F8, the social media’s yearly designer conference, Facebook’s CEO stated the business is moving its efforts to not just concentrate on public areas like your news feed, however likewise personal locations online.
“I believe the future is private,” Zuckerberg stated. “This is the next chapter for our services.”
In a bombshell relocation, Zuckerberg stated last month Facebook would refocus the whole business around personal privacy. He stated the facilities of all of Facebook’s services, consisting of Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, would be more technically incorporated and focus on end-to-end file encryption, that makes user messages unreadable to other celebrations, in addition to other personal privacy functions.
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Facebook’s Zuckerberg preaches ‘The future is private’
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Zuckerberg’s F8 keynote is his biggest speech of the year, akin to a State of the Union for Facebook. In past keynotes, he reflected on turning 30, took a veiled shot at then-candidate Donald Trump against building walls, and apologized for Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
This year’s conference comes during the most tumultuous period in Facebook’s history. The social network is still reeling from its role in helping to spread disinformation in the 2016 US presidential election, as well as efforts by state actors to sway several subsequent elections. Facebook has also faced criticism for what critics have called a cavalier approach to user data that has taken the form of traditional data breaches, as well as reportedly using personal information as bargaining chips with partner companies.
Facebook has also received blowback for reportedly trying to deflect blame for some of its policies, and hiring the communications firm Definers, which specializes in opposition research, to dig up dirt on the company’s detractors.
Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook’s new focus on privacy might seem disingenuous after its past scandals.
“I get that a lot of people think we’re not serious about this,” Zuckerberg said. “I know we don’t have the strongest reputation on privacy, to put it lightly.”
Zuckerberg has recently called for more regulation of the tech industry. Last month, he said in an op-ed in The Washington Post that lawmakers should focus on legislation in four areas: harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability.
