The 2016 presidential election truly exposed that our privacy isn’t important to Facebook. The private information of millions of people was left exposed, and the users were also surrounded by “fake news.” Although Mark Zuckerberg stated that Facebook will tighten its security, the plan itself is really vague. He stated that he wants to increase the privacy/ security of conversations, while still having public forums. It is a slow shift from publicly broadcasting your information, to having a little bit of privacy. Rather than publicly sharing things, you’d be exposed to a small group of people that you know. Also, instead of keeping your posts on public record, your post will be deleted after a period of time (similar to SnapChat). Overall, his plan doesn’t seem to discuss how this would limit the spreading of false news, selling of private information, how it’ll prevent hacking, and what his next steps are for the up-and-coming elections. Zuckerberg also hasn’t stated how long this shift would take, nor how private communications would affect Facebook’s bottom line.

In the wake of Zuckerberg’s new idea, two deputies have resigned, due to differences. There’s no denying that his shift is a step towards the right direction, but does it really solve the problems that Facebook users have been facing these past few years? How will this prevent hacking, selling of data, or the spread of false information? On top of this, will the change even help the company? Users have gradually shifted from Facebook to other social media for two major reason, distrust, and disinterest. Zuckerberg and members of his company should have prioritized their users from the start, which could have prevented the problems they face today. Change is definitely needed across all social media platforms, but one must ask, will this “big” change make a difference?