Facebook, the social media giant, intends to change its name to reflect its focus on building in the virtual world, according to The Verge, which cited a source familiar with the matter on Tuesday. The report indicates that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to discuss the name change at the company's annual Connect conference on October 28, although there is a possibility of an earlier announcement.
The rebranding is likely to position the Facebook app as one of many products under a parent company that will oversee groups such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and others. Facebook stated that it does not comment on rumors or speculation.
This news comes at a time when the company is facing increasing scrutiny from the U.S. government regarding its business practices. Lawmakers from both parties have criticized the company, highlighting the growing anger in Congress towards Facebook.
It is not uncommon in Silicon Valley for companies to change their names as they seek to expand their services; Google did this when it created "Google Alphabet" as a holding company in 2015 to go beyond its search and advertising business and oversee various other projects, such as providing internet services to remote areas.
The shift to rebranding will also signify Facebook's focus on building what is referred to as the "metaverse," an online world where people can use different devices to navigate and interact in a virtual environment, according to the report. Facebook has heavily invested in virtual reality and augmented reality and plans to connect nearly 3 billion users through various devices and applications.
Additionally, the company announced on Tuesday plans to create 10,000 jobs in the European Union over the next five years to help build the metaverse. Zuckerberg has been discussing the metaverse since last July, and the term, first coined in Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel "Snow Crash," refers to the three-dimensional virtual space where humans interact as avatars with each other and with software.
