Wednesday marks 22 years since Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook
(CBS, KYMA) - On February 4, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched "Facebook" from his dorm room at Harvard University.
Originally named "thefacebook.com," it was designed to connect college students and initially required a university email address to create an account.
The site, originally restricted to current students of Harvard, eventually expanded to all Ivy Leagues before reaching most universities in the US and Canada.
Facebook then spread to high schools in 2005, companies in early 2006 and by September of 2006, full public access was opened to anyone 13 years of age or older.
By 2007, Facebook surpassed MySpace in global traffic and became the world's most popular social media platform. The company would go on to purchase both Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012.
In 2021, Facebook rebranded as Meta, reflecting its shift toward building the "Metaverse" and focusing on virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.
Ben Mezrich published "The Accidental Billionaires" in 2009, which portrays the founding of the social networking website.
The book was adapted by Aaron Sorkin for the 2010 film "The Social Network," which starred Jesse Eisenberg (as Zuckerberg), Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake.
Despite its success, Facebook has faced significant controversies since its founding, including privacy concerns, the spread of misinformation (especially concerning elections and COVID-19), as well as AI infiltrating feeds.
