Speaking at a live-streamed virtual and augmented reality conference, Facebook Inc's CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said his company is rebranding itself as 'Meta' in an effort to reflect its expansion into the metaverse. The announcement comes as the company faces criticism over its market power, algorithm, and abuse across the platform.

"As we embark on this next chapter, I've thought a lot about what this means for our company and our identity. Today, we're seen as a social media company. Facebook is one of the most used technology products in the history of the world. It's an iconic social media brand. To reflect who we are and the future we hope to build, I'm proud to share that our company is now Meta," Mark Zuckerberg announced. Metaverse reportedly refers to the idea of a shared virtual environment which can be accessed by people using different devices.

Explaining the reason behind the decision to rebrand the company, the CEO added, "Facebook just doesn't encompass everything the company does any more. In addition to its primary social network, that now includes Instagram, Messenger, its Quest VR headset, its Horizon VR platform and more. Today we are seen as a social media company. But in our DNA we are a company that builds technology to connect people."