‘Every move scrutinized’: Facebook’s rocky road to the metaverse

The CEO has changed the world - but he faces regulatory, technological and branding troubles in his push to do it again

It would hardly be hyperbole to say that since its founding in 2004, Facebook has taken over the world - counting more than 50% of the global population as its user base. But after years of domination built on advertising revenue, the company has nearly overnight tried to knock down that empire and build anew.

In October 2021, more than 15 years and 2.8 billion users after the then student Mark Zuckerberg launched the social media platform from his college dorm, Facebook announced it had become Meta" and was refocusing on the company's virtual reality endeavors.