Facebook rejects call by co-founder to break into three companies
Chris Hughes, who says he feels a sense of anger and responsibility, wants WhatsApp and Instagram to be made into separate firms
Washington — Facebook quickly rejected a call from co-founder Chris Hughes on Thursday to split the world’s largest social media company in three, while legislators urged the US justice department to launch an antitrust investigation. Facebook has been under scrutiny from regulators around the world over data sharing practices as well as hate speech and misinformation on its networks. Some US legislators have pushed for action to break up big tech companies as well as federal privacy regulation. “We are a nation with a tradition of reining in monopolies, no matter how well intentioned the leaders of these companies may be. Mark’s power is unprecedented and un-American,” Hughes, a former college roommate of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, wrote in a lengthy New York Times opinion piece. Facebook’s social network has more than 2-billion users. It also owns WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, each used by more than 1-billion people. Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014....
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