Facebook is one of the largest and most influential technology companies in the world. As of October 2022, Facebook has over 2.93 billion monthly active users across its family of apps, which includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. This enormous userbase gives Facebook significant power to shape culture, politics, and society.
Given Facebook’s huge impact, many have questioned what principles and values underpin the company’s operations. What is the philosophy that guides Facebook’s leadership in their decision making? Examining Facebook’s stated mission and policies as well as controversies surrounding the platform can provide insight into the company’s worldview.
Facebook’s Mission and Values
According to Facebook, their mission is to “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.” They aim to connect people from diverse backgrounds and build products that support community and enable human connection.
Facebook outlines a set of core values meant to guide company culture and practices:
- Be Bold – Build social value
- Focus on Impact – Move fast
- Be Open – Bring the world closer together
- Build Awesome Things – Focus on people
- Live in the Future – Together
These values emphasize being innovative, moving fast, connecting people, and focusing on users. They present Facebook as a company aimed at doing good in the world by fostering relationships.
User Privacy and Data Collection
However, there has been significant criticism that Facebook’s actual business practices conflict with their stated values. One major area of contention is user privacy and data collection.
Facebook’s business model relies on collecting vast amounts of data about its users’ demographics, behaviors, interests, and habits. This enables highly targeted advertising. Facebook has access to users’ posts, messages, photos, locations, networks of friends and family, and more.
Critics argue that Facebook’s data mining extracts value from users without adequate consent about how their information is used. There have been various controversies around Facebook violating or pushing the boundaries of privacy laws.
In 2010, Facebook changed default privacy settings for certain types of content to be more public without properly notifying users or getting their approval. In 2018, the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed that millions of users’ data was harvested without their knowledge through a third party quiz app. This raised concerns about how protected and private user data really is.
Data Collection Controversies
| Year | Controversy |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Facebook changed default privacy settings for certain content to be more public without user notification or consent. |
| 2018 | The Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed widespread harvesting of user data by a third party without users’ knowledge. |
| 2021 | A Facebook whistleblower leaked documents showing Facebook was aware its apps like Instagram negatively impacted mental health of teen girls. |
This history suggests a conflict between Facebook’s stated values of empowering users and building community, and business incentives to collect as much user data as possible.
Algorithms and Content Moderation
Another major area of philosophical debate relates to Facebook’s algorithms and content moderation policies.
Facebook’s News Feed and other feeds are controlled by proprietary algorithms that determine what content users see. The goal is to maximize engagement. This has led to accusations that Facebook’s algorithms privilege inflammatory, divisive, and false content since it tends to provoke reactions and shares.
Critics argue Facebook’s algorithmic curation practices have contributed to:
- The spread of misinformation and “fake news”
- Increased political polarization
- Feedback loops that reinforce users’ existing beliefs
This suggests the algorithms subordinate truth and nuance in favor of whatever content best boosts engagement stats.
Similarly, Facebook has faced criticism for inconsistent and politically biased content moderation. Facebook has had to walk a fine line between preserving free speech and combating hate speech, nudity, and other policy violations. Despite employing thousands of content moderators, harmful content still commonly slips through.
Major Content Moderation Issues
| Year | Content Moderation Controversy |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Facebook was criticized for not doing enough to limit fake news and hoaxes spreading on its platform during the 2016 US presidential election. |
| 2020 | A Facebook employee leak revealed preferential treatment for conservative pages and figures when enforcing content rules. |
| 2021 | Facebook was condemned for its role in amplifying anti-Muslim hate speech and messaging that fueled real-world violence in India. |
Facebook maintains its platform reflects a diversity of views, and that it remains politically neutral. But critics argue Facebook has put profits over ethics when it comes to algorithmic curation and content moderation.
Mental Health and Social Impacts
Beyond privacy and speech concerns, some philosophers, ethicists, and psychologists have raised questions about the impacts of Facebook and social media on human well-being and society.
Studies have linked social media usage, particularly among teens, to low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. This suggests the business imperative to maximize “engagement” may conflict with what makes people psychologically healthy.
Additionally, some experts argue Facebook and other social media have contributed to the breakdown of truth, social division, tribal politics, and the destabilization of democracies around the world. This includes facilitating the spread of disinformation by giving it a massive platform.
While Facebook aims to “bring the world closer together” in theory, critics contend its real-world effects are increased isolation, manipulation, and social conflict. This reveals a contradiction between Facebook’s espoused philosophy and its actual impact.
Reports on Societal Impacts
| Report | Key Finding |
|---|---|
| Center for Humane Technology (2018) | Facebook’s algorithms promote misinformation and extremism, contribute to attention distraction, and exploit human weaknesses. |
| United Nations (2019) | Facebook played a determining role in fomenting genocide against the Rohingya people in Myanmar. |
| Frances Haugen Whistleblower Complaint (2021) | Facebook hid research showing harm to vulnerable groups, including damage to teens’ mental health. |
Profit Motives and Shareholder Primacy
One way to understand Facebook’s controversial business practices is that they are driven by the company’s obligations to maximize profits and shareholder returns above all else.
Facebook is a publicly traded company beholden to stock market expectations. Its predominant philosophy is that of shareholder primacy – the theory that a corporation’s primary purpose should be enriching shareholders.
Critics argue Facebook’s financial incentives lead it to prioritize user growth, data collection, and engagement over social responsibility or ethics. Its ostensible values take a backseat when they conflict with profit maximization.
This critique situates Facebook in a broader capitalist context that rewards surveillance capitalism and extractive business practices even when harmful to society. From this view, Facebook’s philosophy reflects capitalist norms, not universal ethical values.
Facebook Revenue and Profit Growth
| Year | Annual Revenue | Net Income |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $17.9 billion | $3.7 billion |
| 2018 | $55.8 billion | $22.1 billion |
| 2021 | $117.9 billion | $39.4 billion |
Facebook’s remarkable growth suggests financial incentives trump its platitudes about bring people together and focusing on social value.
Lack of Accountability
Connecting to this critique is the accusation that Facebook lacks adequate transparency and accountability. Critics argue its size, wealth, and monopoly power let it operate however it wants without consequences.
Unlike democratically elected governments, Facebook is not accountable to the billions of people its platforms impact. Mark Zuckerberg holds total control of the company. Facebook is arguably more powerful than any single government, but without checks and balances.
Philosophically, this contradicts principles of informed consent, democratic oversight, and ethical governance. The company claims to serve users, but retains unilateral control over policies regulating speech, data use, algorithms, and more.
Facebook’s Power and Influence
| Metric | Measure |
|---|---|
| Global population | 7.9 billion |
| Facebook monthly active users | 2.93 billion |
| Facebook share of global advertising | 25% |
| Mark Zuckerberg’s voting power | 53% |
Given this power, many argue Facebook requires stronger supervision, auditing, and restraints to align its impacts with the public interest.
Conclusion
Facebook presents itself as a socially conscious company aiming to bring people together and enable expression. But controversies surrounding issues like privacy, algorithms, and mental health reveal tensions between its stated philosophy and business practices driven by profits and growth.
Critics contend Facebook’s underlying values reflect capitalist norms privileging shareholder returns over social welfare. Its lack of democratic checks and balances allows it to operate opaquely without input from its billions of users.
Examining the principles implicit in Facebook’s business model suggests a worldview that is more pragmatic than idealistic. Its ostensible humanitarian vision seems subordinate to commercial success and concentrating power.
Facebook’s ability to affect society has made it a site of philosophical debates around ethics, governance, free speech, human rights, the corporate social compact, and more. Its real values remain ambiguous and hotly contested. But its impacts reveal the importance of interrogating and critiquing the ideologies underpinning today’s most influential technologies.