By David Ingram -
NBC News
Facebook turned 20, but don't expect a big party.
The company reached a historic milestone Sunday by commemorating the day Mark Zuckerberg, then 19, launched a new website in 2004: thefacebook.com.
Initially it was available only to students at Harvard University and later to other universities.
The blue app is still recognizable, although it has come a long way.
Facebook is now under the umbrella of Meta, Zuckerberg's company that also owns the Instagram and WhatsApp platforms.
[Mark Zuckerberg apologizes to relatives of children who are victims of abuse on social networks]
Meta is valued at more than $1 trillion, making it one of the most valuable corporations in the United States, based on its stock price.
On Thursday it reported $39 billion in profits by 2023 and 3.07 billion monthly users on Facebook alone, sending its stock price up 20.3% the next day.
Although for Facebook and Meta, the 20th birthday comes at an awkward time.
Four days ago, Zuckerberg appeared before a Senate committee and was pressured to apologize to parents who say his children have died from suicide or drug overdoses that would not have happened without social media.
Zuckerberg, as Meta's CEO and majority owner, was greeted with catcalls when he entered the room Wednesday.
For several hours he faced intense questioning from lawmakers about child safety and whether the company is investing enough resources to protect children and teens.
"No one should have to go through the things their families have gone through
," Zuckerberg told parents.
[Facebook will pay $400 to almost two million people in Illinois for taking their personal data online without permission]
The Senate hearing reinforced a dynamic that has been true for years: Zuckerberg's company seems inextricably linked to controversy and political scrutiny, even as it has been a resounding success as a profitable business and social media pioneer with features like the
News Feed
and
Poke
, the function to "give a touch" to friends on the social network.
Lawmakers say they are moving toward possible landmark legislation to regulate Meta and other social media companies.
Some lawmakers want to partially undo a 1996 law known as Section 230 that has given internet platforms immunity from many types of lawsuits, including lawsuits for publishing or hosting potentially defamatory posts written by others.
Companies like Meta have said their immunity under Section 230 is broad, barring lawsuits alleging their products have harmful design flaws, such as causing addiction or recommending terrorist content.
Addressing his week of turmoil, Zuckerberg said in a post Thursday that he was focused on the long term.
“You are never as good as they say when you are up, nor as bad as they say when you are down.
Just keep building and doing good work over long periods of time,” he wrote on Threads.
[Meta returns Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts after more than two years of suspension]
The relentless scrutiny of Meta by politicians, regulators, advocates and journalists leaves little room for public celebration, although it is possible that Zuckerberg will mark the birthday with a post on Facebook or Instagram, as he has done with other milestones.
A decade ago, Zuckerberg posted on Facebook's 10th birthday that he was amazed by the company's success at the time compared to its competitors.
“We simply care more than anyone about connecting the world,” he wrote in 2014, according to TechCrunch.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg during a Senate hearing on Wednesday, January 31.
The twentieth birthday or anniversary of an important company is usually a reason for a large public celebration.
Walmart held parties at its roughly 500 stores when the retailer turned 20 in October 1982, according to a news release at the time.
Microsoft opened a company museum for its 20th anniversary in 1995, and Apple celebrated in 1997 with a special edition of its personal computer, called the 20th Anniversary Macintosh.
Meta, based in Menlo Park, California, has not announced similar plans to celebrate the birthday.
A company representative declined to comment.
[Meta will restrict content for teenagers on Instagram and Facebook]
In recent days, French newspaper Le Figaro took note of Facebook's milestone with a survey on its website, asking readers: "Has social media been a progress for society?"
As of Friday, 86% had said “no.”
Facebook has faced controversy since its inception.
Weeks before the launch, in a harbinger of future congressional testimony, Zuckerberg appeared before a Harvard University administrative board to face criticism for a previous site he created, facemash.com.
That site had allowed his fellow students to rank their classmates based on his physical attractiveness.
Zuckerberg's creation has been a lightning rod ever since.