New York: It is time to break up Facebook -- mired in several data scandals and privacy violation cases -- as Mark Zuckerberg has yielded "unchecked power" and influence "far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government", the social network giant's Co-founder Chris Hughes has stressed.
In an opinion piece in The New York Times on Thursday, Hughes said the government must hold Mark (Zuckerberg) accountable.
Mark's personal reputation and the reputation of Facebook have taken a nose-dive.
"The company's mistakes � the sloppy privacy practices that dropped tens of millions of users' data into a political consulting firm's lap; the slow response to Russian agents, violent rhetoric and fake news; and the unbounded drive to capture ever more of our time and attention � dominate the headlines," wrote Hughes who, during his freshman year at Harvard University in 2002, was recruited by Zuckerberg for Facebook.
"Mark is a good, kind person. But I'm angry that his focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks," Hughes argued.
"I'm disappointed in myself and the early Facebook team for not thinking more about how the News Feed algorithm could change our culture, influence elections and empower nationalist leaders.
"And I'm worried that Mark has surrounded himself with a team that reinforces his beliefs instead of challenging them," Hughes added.