Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg laid out a vision on Thursday of his company serving as a bulwark against rising isolationism, writing in a letter to users that the companyโs platform could be the โsocial infrastructureโ for the globe.
In a 5,700-word manifesto, Zuckerberg, founder of the worldโs largest social network, quoted Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. president during the countryโs 19th century Civil War known for his eloquence, and offered a philosophical sweep that was unusual for a business magnate.
Zuckerbergโs comments come at a time when many people and nations around the world are taking an increasingly inward view. U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to put โAmerica firstโ in his inaugural address in January. That followed Britainโs decision last June to exit the European Union.
โAcross the world there are people left behind by globalization, and movements for withdrawing from global connection,โ Zuckerberg wrote, without naming specific movements.
The question, the 32-year-old executive said, was whether โthe path ahead is to connect more or reverse course,โ adding that he stands for bringing people together.
Quoting from a letter Lincoln wrote to Congress in the depths of the Civil War, he wrote to Facebookโs 1.9 billion users: โThe dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present.โ
Zuckerberg said that Facebook could move far beyond its roots as a network for friends and families to communicate, suggesting that it can play a role in five areas, all of which he referred to as โcommunities,โ ranging from strengthening traditional institutions, to providing help during and after crises, to boosting civic engagement.
In comments on Facebook, some users praised Zuckerbergโs note for staying positive, while others declared โglobalismโ dead.
Facebook has been under pressure to more closely police hoaxes, fake news and other controversial content, although the concerns have had little impact on its finances. The company reported 2016 revenue of $27.6 billion, up 54 percent from a year earlier.
One area where Zuckerberg wrote that Facebook would do better would be suggesting โmeaningful communities.โ Some 100 million users are members of groups that are โvery meaningfulโ to them, he wrote, representing only about 5 percent of users.
Facebook is also using artificial intelligence more to flag photos and videos that need human review, Zuckerberg wrote. One-third of all reports to Facebookโs review team are generated by artificial intelligence, he wrote.
Zuckerbergโs letter was โa bit more ambitious and a bit more of the 30,000-foot view than I see from most tech company CEOs,โ Peter Micek, global policy and legal counsel at Access Now, an international digital rights group, said in a phone interview.
But Zuckerberg stayed away from certain subjects on which Facebook could be vulnerable to criticism, mentioning the word โprivacyโ only once, Micek said.
