20 Years Of Facebook In 10 Landmarks: A Definitive Timeline

Winklevii Suing Facebook (2004) — ConnectU, a startup established by Harvard students filed a lawsuit against TheFacebook.com, accusing Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea and passing it off as his own.

News Feed Launch (2006) — Introduction of News Feed sparked outrage among users as their activities became visible to all their friends, making it challenging to maintain privacy.

Facebook Launches Ads (2007) — Zuckerberg introduced Facebook Ads and Pages dedicated to brands. Unlike TV and print, this enabled advertisers to specifically target desired audiences using the extensive user data accumulated over time.

Facebook Launches Like Button (2009) — It created a currency for the Internet, Like button. The Like button fed human beings' constant craving for validation and also became an informal poll test for politicians.

FTC Investigation Ends With Consent Decree (2011) — As part of the agreement, FB committed to refraining from misrepresenting users' privacy and security settings and pledged to obtain consent before implementing changes.

Facebook Changes Business Model, Focuses On Mobile (2012) — It pivoted its attention from PC operations to smartphones, emphasising mobile advertising to secure its viability. It integrated sponsored ads directly into the News Feed.

Facebook Announces Changes To Privacy Settings (2015) — It revealed that its Graph API would no longer permit developers to retrieve users' friends' data, and subsequently discontinued this functionality in April 2015.

Cambridge Analytica (2018) — A revelation was made concerning the expansive data trade, underscoring Facebook's significant role as a key contributor.

Censoring Messages Critical Of Israel (2021) — Thousands of Pro-Palestine and Anti-Israel posts were deleted overnight.

Facebook Becomes Meta (2021) — Corporate name of FB was changed to 'Meta' as part of a rebranding effort amidst extensive scrutiny of its platforms following a whistleblowing act.