Mark Zuckerberg has said he sees Facebook as a largely "positive" force for society as the embattled social network marked its 15th anniversary.
Even as Facebook is facing a wave of criticism over issues of manipulation, misinformation, abuse and other social ills, Zuckerberg said on Monday it would be a mistake "to overly emphasize the negative" impacts of social media and the internet.
The Facebook co-founder and chief executive said he sees profound social changes "as networks of people connected via the internet replace traditional hierarchies and reshape institutions from government to business to media."
In a post on his Facebook page, he argued that "while any rapid social change creates uncertainty, I believe what we're seeing is people having more power, and a long term trend reshaping society to be more open and accountable over time."
Zuckerberg added: "If the last 15 years were about people building these new networks and starting to see their impact, then the next 15 years will be about people using their power to remake society in ways that have the potential to be profoundly positive for decades to come."
Zuckerberg has acknowledged that Facebook needs to do more to restore trust, and ferret out misinformation and abuse, and on Monday repeated his pledge to spend more "on safety and security."
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