While the site boasts many features, such as connecting with long-lost friends and family and supporting small businesses, its 20-year history has been riddled with controversies. From the "Cambridge Analytica" scandal and allegations of election interference to lacking protection against harmful content, Facebook has faced significant scrutiny.

A report by the British network "Sky News" detailed Facebook's evolution from a simple site created in a college dorm to a trillion-dollar company.

2004
Launched as a platform exclusively for his university peers by then-computer science and psychology student Zuckerberg, it was not initially open to the broader public.

2005
It wasn't until 2005 that Facebook users could upload photos, initially allowing them to sort images into albums.

2006
A year before the first "iPhone" hit the market, Facebook launched its first mobile version for the inaugural generation of smartphone users. On September 26, 2006, it expanded to anyone claiming to be over 13 years old regardless of university affiliation. This year also introduced the "News Feed" feature, sparking the concept of news "scrolling."

2007
The fourth year of Facebook saw the introduction of video uploads and pages, plus a significant influx of advertisements on the platform.

2008
Facebook launched its own instant messaging service in March 2008, which later became the standalone "Messenger" app in 2011.

2009
"Like" buttons and tagging features were introduced to compete with "Twitter."

2010
January 2010 marked the opening of Facebook's first dedicated data center in Oregon.

2011
Facebook began its complicated relationship with law enforcement authorities, facing lawsuits from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over multiple privacy policy violations.

2012
Acquiring the photo-sharing app "Instagram" in April 2012 for a billion dollars, Facebook made its initial public offering in May. The VR headset brand "Oculus" also rolled out its first product that year.

2013
A glitch in June 2013 exposed six million users' phone numbers and email addresses.

2014
Facebook acquired the "WhatsApp" messaging app for a whopping 19 times what it paid for Instagram.

2015
The "Cambridge Analytica" scandal broke, revealing unauthorized access to at least 50 million American and 1 million British users' data.

2016
"Facebook Live" was introduced for real-time streaming.

2017
The "Stories" feature followed its Instagram launch, along with "Facebook 360" for uploading panoramic pictures.

2018
The peak of the "Cambridge Analytica" scandal saw company offices raided, and Zuckerberg testifying before the U.S. Congress.

2019
Facebook suffered three separate data breaches, impacting its reputation significantly.

2020
Facing its second FTC lawsuit, Facebook agreed to a new approach to privacy protection, paying a $5 billion fine.

2021
Announcing the rebrand to "Meta," reflecting interest in the metaverse, the company faced lawsuits over its alleged role in promoting genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar.

2022
Meta's safeguards against harmful content were scrutinized, especially when the UK coroner linked "negative online content" to a suicide for the first time.

2023
Meta's "Reality Labs" faced a staggering loss of $46.5 billion, while Zuckerberg scrapped plans for 21,000 new jobs, and Meta introduced the "Threads" app.

2024
Last week, Zuckerberg apologized to victims of social media platforms and their families during a U.S. Congress session that included the heads of Meta, X, TikTok, Discord, Snapchat, and discussed the social networks' risks to children and teenagers. He expressed his regret to the families, reminding that Meta has invested over $20 billion in safety since 2016 and employed 40,000 people in content management and platform safety departments.