Zuckerberg on the occasion of Facebook's 15th anniversary: ​​critics are too "negative"

Facebook is officially 15 years old and Mark Zuckerberg would really love it if any enemies could, like, stop being. negative already.

The Facebook CEO has posted a memo to commemorate Facebook's 15th birthday and, in the words of Facebook official Twitter accountreflect on "how the world has changed, the challenges we face, the progress we have made and where we are going."

In the note, Zuckerberg once again recounts his decision to create a "simple website organized according to people" that will reach more than 2 billion users.

The CEO also notes the "new social and ethical problems" with which Facebook is currently struggling and that the company plans to invest billions of dollars in security this year.

"This year, we are planning to spend more on security than all our revenue at the time of our IPO," wrote Zuckerberg. Facebook achieved a turnover of more than $ 3.7 billion in 2011, the year of its initial public offering.

But in addition to promising new investment in solving Facebook's problems, Zuckerberg says again that the toughest criticisms of Facebook are simply too "negative".

At the same time, another force is at stake as networks of people replace traditional hierarchies and change many institutions in our society – from government to business, to the media, and so on. – some people tend to lament this change, too much emphasis on the negativeand, in some cases, going so far as to say that the shift to empowering people, as the Internet and these networks do, is especially damaging to society and democracy.

On the contrary, although any rapid social change creates uncertainty, I think what we see is that people have more power and a long-term trend that redefines society to be more open and more inclusive. responsible over time.

Although similar to Zuck's comments in the past, the comments seemed particularly deaf to many observers, particularly with regard to Facebook's role in Russian election interference, crowd violence in India and genocide at the time. Myanmar.

Zuckerberg also continues the speech made in Sheryl Sandberg's speech that "some people" who resist change "will insist too much on the negative".

It's … wild. Reject valid critics (like Myanmar), because the noise of people who resist change is rude. pic.twitter.com/nlEjPNxGEu

– Ryan Mac (@ RMac18) February 4, 2019

In a message marking the 15th anniversary of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg confirms what we have been saying for a long time. The company thinks that it is taken unfairly by a media anxious for its business model. pic.twitter.com/CjNiVwSgsI

– Dave Lee (@DaveLeeBBC) February 4, 2019

Imperfect badogy, but imagine Facebook as a city. People say to the mayor "the schools are terrible !!!" and the mayor responds "but our roads are working! Should not we celebrate the fact that you can go to school?"
And also the mayor is permanent.https: //t.co/VwGnqfttj3

– Sarah Frier (@sarahfrier) February 4, 2019

The note is Zuckerberg's last attempt to repel critics. Last month, the CEO wrote a Wall Street Journathe editorial for the defense of advertising billions of dollars of Facebook.

"We are very concerned about helping people to share and communicate more, because the purpose of our service is to help people stay in touch with their family, friends, and their communities. "he wrote.

You can read Zuckerberg's full note here.