Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg tries to defend website on its birthday

Mark Zuckerberg says that Facebook is being criticised too much – and that people dislike it partly because it is empowering people. In a message posted to celebrate his company's 15th birthday, the founder and boss defended his company after a bruising period that has seen it accused of abusing people's most personal data and failing to act to stop deadly misinformation. He admitted the company had more to do around disturbing content but also suggested he does not get enough credit for the positive impact Facebook has had on the world. Mr Zuckerberg claimed he had founded Facebook in response to the fact that it was possible to find many things – such as films and music – on the internet, but not people. He did not make any reference to any of the more sordid uses that the early Facebook was put to, including a central feature that allowed people to rate how attractive other students were.