Mark Zuckerberg Announces Facebook's Name Change to "Meta"

Facebook announced today, Thursday, that it will change its name to "Meta," at a time when the company is facing significant criticism on multiple fronts. The company stated that the name change "will unify its various apps and technologies under a single new brand." The announcement came during a speech by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO, at the company's annual "Connect" conference on October 28. He explained, "The name Facebook doesn't encompass everything that we do. Right now, our brand is so tightly tied to one product." This comes as Facebook is under increasing scrutiny from the U.S. government regarding its business practices. Lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have criticized the company, reflecting growing anger in Congress towards Facebook. In 2015, Google changed its name when it created "Alphabet Inc." as a holding company to expand its businesses and oversee other projects.