It's no secret this tech giant has had a tough two years lurching from scandal to scandal, like when the news broke that Cambridge Analytica had misappropriated tens of millions of users data, or when a hack affected 30 million users, not to mention the social networks role in spreading hate speech, misinformation and Russian propaganda.

This goes to show that what's been happening behind closed doors hasn't stayed there.

But at the same time, Facebook's constant crises haven't really hurt the company's bottom line.

So what's going on with Facebook?

I know that we don't exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now.

Toe put it lightly.

If we look back at Facebook in 2004 when Mark Zuckerberg founded it, it's clear that they have come a long way connecting billions of people all around the world.

But they have prioritized growing their user base revenue and profits e and sometimes lost track of the possible consequences on on Lee.

Now, 10 to 15 years later, are we seeing the impact?

By all accounts, the company is still cash printing machine.

It's seeing significant growth.

It's making billions of dollars in profit every single quarter on for stock.

While it's not at the same all time highs at once, Waas, it's still doing very, very well.

Well, that's the good news.

Let's backtrack.

Shall we wait?

Facebook really started facing more scrutiny in the aftermath of the 2016 U.

S.

Presidential election, when it emerged that Russia had used the platform to spread propaganda in 2017 Facebook was criticized for its slow response after the social network was used to spread hate speech that helped fuel genocide in Myanmar.

Following this in March 2018 Cambridge Analytica, a political firm, had misappropriated data of 87 million users.

They did this not by hacking Facebook, but by buying the data from a researcher who had taken advantage of Facebook's lax rules harvesting tens of millions of users data using a viral personality quiz.

It was pretty obvious that Facebook's protection on users data wasn't up to par.

Things continue to snowball.

After Cambridge Analytica in September 2018 there was a string of privacy scandals where the personal data of 30 million users was hacked.

Since then, the company also discovered that hundreds of millions of users passwords are being stored in plain text.

That means no encryption, which is a massive security misstep.

And Facebook's response to the scandals hasn't helped either.

Ah, public relations firm hired by Facebook, tried to smear the company's critics by linking them to Jewish investor George Soros and attack that fed into far right conspiracy theories and was criticized as anti Semitic.

Then, in 2019 the U.

S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development sued Facebook over allegations of housing discrimination.

So what do people think of it all?

Interestingly, it's not enough to get them to stop using the social network.

Not only is the Facebook app getting a major old white redesign and focusing more on groups, it's also making changes that it claims represent a pivot to privacy.

So that's why I believe that the future is private.

This'd is the next chapter for our services.

It is encrypting its messaging maps messenger on Instagram DMS and what it says will help protect users of 13 privacy.

Interestingly, this won't actually affect the amount of data Facebook clicked on any of its users on you.

Absolutely target.

You have all the same adverts.

Well, still, no everything to say about you.

Also in the works Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram will allow users to send messages between each app.

But this is drawing more criticism from those who view Facebook as a monopoly.

Having everything combined could make it harder to spin off its APs if anti trust action is ever taken against it.

In the meantime, the social network is preparing for a fine of 3 to $5 billion.

It would be a record fine for an FTC settlement.

So where does Zuckerberg stand in all of this?

Despite all the scandals, Zuckerberg has total control.

He's in such a powerful position as the majority shareholder, so the rest of the shareholders can't force him to do anything he doesn't want to dio.

So it doesn't look like he's going anywhere anytime soon, For company now claims that it could change, and it will change its promising for its fundamental of re orientate in the company in a way that it's never never done before.

And this is one of the most, if not the most important shift in its history.

Well, on Lee, Time will tell whether Zuckerberg can pull this off.