Upcoming Facebook Rebrand Includes Changing Its Name

A Facebook rebrand is forthcoming as the beleaguered social media company tries to improve its image. According to The Verge, the company plans to announce it will relaunch itself with a new name within the next few days. 

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Facebook Rebrand Includes Changing Its Name

News reports say that Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg will discuss the name change at the company’s Connect conference on Oct. 28.

While the app and its services will remain unchanged in branding, the parent company, which also owns Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, will undergo a rebrand. The move is similar to Google’s decision to name its parent company Alphabet Inc. 

Officially, the company’s stand on the Facebook rebrand is mum. A company spokesperson declined to comment. He said that the company doesn’t “comment on rumor or speculation” regarding the Verge report. 

Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Concept

Zuckerberg, who co-founded the social network in 2004, often remarked about the company’s future. He said that the key to Facebook’s future relates to the metaverse concept.

It’s an idea that users live, work, entertain, and train inside a virtual universe. For example, Facebook’s Oculus virtual reality headsets and services are helping establish the metaverse vision. 

Last July, Zuckerberg talked about the transition to a metaverse company. “In the coming years, I expect people will transition from seeing us primarily as a social media company to seeing us as a metaverse company.

In many ways the metaverse is the ultimate expression of social technology,” he said. The metaverse concept will make up a greater part of the Facebook rebrand.

The company already invested heavily in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology. Zuckerberg wants to connect its nearly three billion users through several devices and apps.

To help build this metaverse, Facebook announced it will create 10,000 jobs in the European Union to develop the metaverse further. 

Facebook Rebrand Happening As Company Getting Heat

Meanwhile, the planned Facebook rebrand comes at a time when the company remains in the crosshairs of regulators, lawmakers, and activists.

An ex-employee, Frances Haugen, shared thousands of company documents with the media. This detailed how Facebook seemed to choose profitability over moderating its content and preventing the spread of misinformation.

Facebook also received criticism over the harmful effects of Instagram on teenage users. 

Recently, the company agreed to pay up to $14.25 million to settle civil claims made by the government. Facebook allegedly discriminated against American workers, which violated federal recruitment rules.

The company confirmed the settlements announced by both Justice and Labor departments. The DOJ filed a lawsuit last December accusing Facebook of preferring temporary workers with H-1B visas. 

‘Historic Decision’

Kristen Clarke, assistant US attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, called it historic. “It represents by far the largest civil penalty the Civil Rights Division has ever recovered in the 35-year history of the Immigration and Nationality Act's anti-discrimination provision,” Clarke said.

She referred to a crucial US immigration law that bars discrimination against workers because of their citizenship or immigration status.

The case centered on Facebook's use of the so-called PERM program. It’s a permanent labor certification that allegedly refused to hire American workers. Instead, the company preferred temporary visa holders.

The Justice Department also accused Facebook of potential regulatory recruitment violations. As a result, the company will pay a civil penalty under the settlement of $4.75 million. In addition, it will also pay up to $9.5 million to eligible victims of its discriminatory hiring practices.

Horizon Is The Front-Running Name

According to The Verge report, the word “Horizon” might play a major role in the Facebook rebrand efforts. In fact, Facebook renamed its VR gaming platform from “Horizon” to “Horizon Worlds.” 

Watch the Buzz Info video reporting that Facebook plans to change its name as part of company rebrand:

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What do you think of Facebook’s plan to rebrand itself? Will it amount to anything? In addition, what do you think of Zuckerberg’s metaverse vision for Facebook.

Let us know what you think about the social media company’s planned changes. Share your comments below.