Here's Everyone That's Pulling Back From Facebook
(CNET.com) - The Twitter hashtag #DeleteFacebook has led a growing number of companies and people to do away with the platform.
The tag comes following news last week that data from millions of Facebook users was misused by Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics company affiliated with the Donald Trump presidential campaign, to try to influence the 2016 US presidential election.
After a five-day silence from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, he finally addressed the incident on Wednesday, issuing an apology on Thursday. There's been mounting pressure on Zuckerberg to testify before Congress, and the Federal Trade Commission is reportedly looking into the matter. The European Union also launched an investigation into Cambridge Analytica and Facebook. On Friday, a US House committee urged Zuckerberg to personally testify at an upcoming hearing about Facebook's policies on user data.
Here are some of the companies and people, so far, who have distanced themselves from the social networking company:
- Mozilla: The developer of the Firefox browser announced it will no longer advertise on Facebook, and established a petition asking the social network to improve its privacy settings. Mozilla said it would consider returning if Facebook strengthens its privacy settings.
- Tesla and SpaceX: Founder Elon Musk deleted the Facebook pages for Tesla and SpaceX after being asked to do so on Twitter on Friday.
- Sonos: The audio company is cutting off advertising to not just Facebook, but also Instagram, Google, YouTube and Twitter for a week. It'll also "go dark" on its Facebook and Instagram accounts next week "in solidarity with those seeking to build a healthier, more consumer-friendly tech ecosystem," the company said in a blog post.
- Commerzbank: The German bank said it will pull advertising from Facebook.
- Cher: The singer announced via Twitter on Tuesday that she had deleted her Facebook page, saying it was "VERY HARD 4 me."
