Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Why the spectrum gold rush may soon be over

      23 June 2025

      TCS | South Africa’s Sociable wants to make social media social again

      23 June 2025

      Tech stability key to getting South Africa off damaging financial grey list

      23 June 2025

      ‘System offline’ scourge to end, says Schreiber – but industry must pay

      23 June 2025

      Naspers shifts to an AI-first strategy – and it’s paying off

      23 June 2025
    • World

      Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

      19 June 2025

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E3: Behind Takealot’s revenue surge

      23 June 2025

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Sections » Facebook co-founder calls for company to be broken up

    Facebook co-founder calls for company to be broken up

    By Martyn Landi10 May 2019
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    The co-founder of Facebook has called for the social network to be broken up, labelling the power of CEO Mark Zuckerberg “unprecedented and un-American”.

    Chris Hughes, who created the platform alongside Zuckerberg when the pair were students at Harvard University but left the company in 2007, said government needed to hold the firm to account.

    Writing in the New York Times, Hughes said the recent number of privacy scandals and Zuckerberg’s complete control over Facebook’s wide range of businesses and users were key problems.

    Mark’s influence is staggering, far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government

    “Mark’s influence is staggering, far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government,” he said. “He controls three core communications platforms — Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — that billions of people use every day.

    “Facebook’s board works more like an advisory committee than an overseer, because Mark controls around 60% of voting shares. Mark alone can decide how to configure Facebook’s algorithms to determine what people see in their News Feeds, what privacy settings they can use and even which messages get delivered.

    “He sets the rules for how to distinguish violent and incendiary speech from the merely offensive, and he can choose to shut down a competitor by acquiring, blocking or copying it.”

    Curbed

    Hughes added that Facebook’s influence on society was another reason it needed to be curbed.

    “Mark is a good, kind person. But I’m angry that his focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks,” he said.

    “I’m disappointed in myself and the early Facebook team for not thinking more about how the News Feed algorithm could change our culture, influence elections and empower nationalist leaders.

    “And I’m worried that Mark has surrounded himself with a team that reinforces his beliefs instead of challenging them.”

    Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

    Hughes said the platform had become a monopoly and should be forced to separate into multiple companies, with increased regulation of competition between technology companies going forward.

    “How would a breakup work? Facebook would have a brief period to spin off the Instagram and WhatsApp businesses, and the three would become distinct companies, most likely publicly traded,” he said.

    “The cost of breaking up Facebook would be next to zero for the government, and lots of people stand to gain economically. A ban on short-term acquisitions would ensure that competitors, and the investors who take a bet on them, would have the space to flourish.”

    This movement of public servants, scholars and activists deserves our support. Mark Zuckerberg cannot fix Facebook, but our government can

    He argued that the “biggest winners” in this scenario would be the public, who would be able to choose between competing platforms offering higher standards.

    He also called for greater regulation, and warned that taking no action would mean Facebook’s “monopoly will become even more entrenched”, and urged support for those in the US government expressing concerns over the platform.

    “This movement of public servants, scholars and activists deserves our support,” he said. “Mark Zuckerberg cannot fix Facebook, but our government can.”

    Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs and communications at Facebook, said: “Facebook accepts that with success comes accountability. But you don’t enforce accountability by calling for the breakup of a successful American company. Accountability of tech companies can only be achieved through the painstaking introduction of new rules for the Internet.

    “That is exactly what Mark Zuckerberg has called for. Indeed, he is meeting government leaders this week to further that work.”



    Chris Hughes Facebook Mark Zuckerberg Nick Clegg top
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleRamaphosa to take an axe to his cabinet
    Next Article Jeff Bezos plans to send a spaceship to moon

    Related Posts

    Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

    17 June 2025

    Zuckerberg bets big on artificial general intelligence

    10 June 2025

    Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

    4 June 2025
    Company News

    IoT connectivity management in South Africa – expert insights

    23 June 2025

    Let’s reimagine Joburg using the power of tech, data and AI

    23 June 2025

    Netstar doubles down on global markets while backing SA growth

    23 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.