- Facebook reportedly to rebrand in the attempt to protect metaverse investments from legal shrapnel caused by the recent user safety and hate speech protection concerns
- An undisclosed source told The Verge the company will announce a new name next week
- Experts say a parent company could protect the cluster of companies from each other’s shortcomings and help maintain independent reputations
- The metaverse is a digital space where people interact virtually, giving users access to more life-like or augmented versions of reality
Facebook is set to rebrand in an attempt to protect metaverse investments from legal shrapnel caused by the recent user safety and hate speech protection concerns, according to reports from The Verge.
Without direct comment from Facebook, a person close to the matter said the company would soon rebrand to limit tainting subsidiary companies; Instagram, Whatsapp and Oculus.
According to the undisclosed source, the company will announce a new name next week.
Face lift
Atlantic Equities internet analyst James Cordwell said Facebook was rebranding was a consequence of its already damaged reputation.
“It reflects the broadening out of the Facebook business. And then, secondly, I do think that Facebook’s brand is probably not the greatest given all of the events of the last three years or so,” Mr Cordwell said.
Experts said a parent company could protect the cluster of companies from each other’s shortcomings and help maintain independent reputations.
Head of branding at Prophet marketing consultancy Marisa Mulvihill agreed but said the media and its regulators “are not going to stop investigating or creating reforms just because they rebranded”.
The Prophet’s annual ranking of brand relevance in the US showed a significant fall in Facebook’s brand in the past few years.
Google previously renamed the parent company to ‘Alphabet’. The rebranding created space for alternative investments without jeopardising Google’s reputation.
The metaverse
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg began heavily investing in the metaverse in July.
Microsoft and Google both have investments in the metaverse. Demand in this industry peaked during the pandemic, when more people began to rely on technology as an escape.
The metaverse is a digital space where people interact virtually, giving users access to more life-like or augmented versions of reality
Popular games such a Fortnite and Roloblox already exist within the space.