Will Facebook face up?

Major corporations make big promises to potential customers. Beer companies sell refreshment. Insurance companies offer protection. Facebook, the social media network used by an astounding 68 percent of American adults, peddles a warmer, fuzzier concept: togetherness.

But what happens when a company runs afoul of its own mission statement? It either owns up to those failings by improving the product or it risks losing customers and relevance. That’s where Facebook is right now: a company that needs to fix its reputation in a hurry or invite government intrusion.

In the past few years, a series of scandals involving Facebook has raised questions about the company’s commitment to caring for its own customers. During the 2016 election campaign, Russian trolls invaded the newsfeeds of Facebook users, planting fake political postings and ads to influence voters. In another politically connected fiasco, Facebook grossly mishandled its own privacy protection guidelines by allowing a company called Cambridge Analytica to harvest personal information from millions of users. Like the Russians, that firm apparently sought to promote Donald Trump’s campaign.

Beneath the surface, of course, Facebook exists to sell that data to advertisers. It’s a publicly traded company worth about $400 billion. Yet scandals have taken a toll.

There are now questions about whether Zuckerberg should remain chairman and CEO, while members of Congress threaten regulatory action.

Facebook knows it messed up by failing to look into dark corners, one former executive said. The company that promises togetherness routinely divides members of families when their news feeds are overrun by partisanship. Zuckerberg has apologized—repeatedly.

The “sorry” emoji no longer suffices. Facebook needs to own up to its many failings by establishing specific ethical practices to regain users’ trust. The company needs to be honest and direct about how all personal data is used and sold. Security ought to be tighter. News feeds have to be valuable to users, not just advertisers.