Zuckerberg once considered deleting all Facebook friend lists to boost usage. Internal emails from 2022 revealed he considered this idea when worried about Facebook losing cultural relevance. The Meta CEO wanted to test this approach in a smaller country first before rolling it out widely. He believed that if Facebook failed, the entire company would fail despite successes with Instagram and WhatsApp. Facebook executive Tom Allison expressed doubts about the plan working, noting friend counts were a key platform feature.
Zuckerberg admitted during Monday's FTC antitrust trial hearing that the company never implemented the idea. The Federal Trade Commission presented these internal communications as evidence during the ongoing legal proceedings. Meta instead decided to focus on improving the Facebook user experience through interface changes. The company returned to a previously used design to make the platform more appealing. This unusual proposal from 2022 appears to have been abandoned as the social network pursues other strategies for growth.
Zuckerberg admitted during Monday's FTC antitrust trial hearing that the company never implemented the idea. The Federal Trade Commission presented these internal communications as evidence during the ongoing legal proceedings. Meta instead decided to focus on improving the Facebook user experience through interface changes. The company returned to a previously used design to make the platform more appealing. This unusual proposal from 2022 appears to have been abandoned as the social network pursues other strategies for growth.
