Irish Examiner view: Facebook tries to move on after blast of scandals

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaving The Merrion Hotel in Dublin after a meeting with politicians to discuss regulation of social media and harmful content.

Facebook has plans to hire 10,000 workers in the EU over the next five years to work on a new computing platform.

The company, built on a mantra to “move fast and break things”, will use these staff to help build “the metaverse”, a virtual world built through augmented and virtual reality.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously described the metaverse as “an embodied internet where instead of just viewing content — you are in it”. He used the example of being able to jump virtually into a 3D concert, rather than watching it on a small screen (or, presumably, watching it in person).

Facebook would build a universe that allows people to attend everything virtually with little need to leave your bed.

One benefit here could be engineering jobs for Ireland, home to thousands of Facebook employees already.

The primary benefit Facebook might be seeking, however, is taking it off the front pages for scandals that have engulfed the company recently, from worldwide outages to the far more serious allegations levelled at them by whistleblower Frances Haugen.

Ms Haugen’s suggestion that the social media giant ignored the harm it was causing to strive for greater growth and profit means it will inevitably now embark on a charm offensive with talk of the future, jobs and connecting people.

Perhaps “move on fast and break things” would be more appropriate.