Zuckerberg unveils Facebook’s new corporate name: ‘Meta’

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said his company is rebranding itself as Meta in an effort to encompass its virtual-reality vision for the future – what he calls the “metaverse”.

The name change comes as the company battles criticisms from politicians and regulators over its market power, its algorithmic decisions and the policing of abuses on its platforms.

The name change is meant to reflect the company’s shifting focus on its new Metaverse product, which Mr Zuckerberg announced during the company’s annual conference on virtual and augmented reality.

“From now on we’re going to be Metaverse first, not Facebook first,” Mr Zuckerberg said on Thursday.

The company unveiled a new sign at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Thursday, replacing its thumbs-up “Like” logo with a blue infinity shape.

The company teased the announcement earlier on Thursday by covering up the sign in front of its headquarters with a tarpaulin.

The metaverse, a term first coined in a dystopian novel three decades ago and now attracting buzz in Silicon Valley, refers broadly to the idea of a shared virtual environment that can be accessed by people using different devices.

Although the wider company name is being rebranded to Meta, the core Facebook service will remain unchanged.

Mr Zuckerberg has increasingly been promoting the idea of Facebook, which has invested heavily in augmented and virtual reality, as a “metaverse” company rather than a social media one.

During the announcement, Mr Zuckerberg said that privacy and security would need to be built into the metaverse, but the technology company has faced increasing scrutiny in recent years from global politicians and regulators.

In the latest controversy, whistle-blower and former Facebook employee Frances Haugen leaked documents that she said showed the company chose profit over user safety.

“Everyone who’s building for the Metaverse should be focused on building responsibly from the beginning,” Mr Zuckerberg said during a video presentation.