Meta has closed the “Responsible Innovation” team, created to identify and address the potential concerns raised by the use of Facebook and the other projects of the group. Made up of more than twenty engineers and ethics experts, the team has repeatedly found itself managing the critical issues typical of a social network, concerning privacy and other sensitive issues. The team should not be confused with the Oversight Board born after the ban by former US President Trump.
The news was published by the Wall Street Journal and then confirmed by Meta itself. The company spokesman, Eric Porterfield, has guaranteed maximum commitment on the issues addressed by the team and clarified that many of the components will be located in various departments with similar duties.
Meta’s goal, added Porterfield, is to deal with ethical issues directly in the various company divisions, no longer in a centralized way through a single team. Although the company does not say it, this measure could relate to the difficult period that Meta and other hi-tech companies are experiencing: poor accounts, declining advertising revenues and hiring frozen in view of what Zuckerberg has called “difficult times”.
All this happens while Zuckerberg has bet the future of his creature on the metaverse, taking only big losses so far. Something that perhaps the CEO has taken into account, given that he is ready to relaunch on October 11 at Meta Connect when he will unveil Oculus Quest Pro, formerly of Project Cambria, a headset that should give a new impetus to the world of virtual reality.
