The Facebook logo is displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken December 2, 2019. (REUTERS/Illustration/File Photo)
Renaming Facebook Inc is unlikely to enable the tech giant to distance itself from regulatory and public scrutiny around the potential harms caused by its social media apps, marketing and branding experts told Reuters.
Tech publication The Verge reported on Tuesday that the California-based firm is planning to change its corporate branding to reflect that as well as owning the social media platform that made it a global household name, it also now includes other thriving businesses like Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus.
The company declined to comment regarding the report on the possible rebranding. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.
Facebook is battling intense scrutiny after a whistleblower leaked thousands of internal documents that showed it contributed to increased polarization online when it made changes to its content algorithm, failed to take steps to reduce vaccine hesitancy, and was aware that popular social media app Instagram harmed the mental health of teenage girls.
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The U.S. Senate held a hearing earlier this month into the effect of Instagram on young users.
“Legislators and politicians are sufficiently smart to not be fooled by a rebranding,” said James Cordwell, an internet analyst at Atlantic Equities.
