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Severity
70 / 100▼6
SEVEREpeak 79ranked #4 of 42people’s rank #5 · preview
Case 004 · Social · Admitted 2018
The Enshittification of Facebook
The Enshittification of FacebookBetween 2015 and 2026, Facebook repeatedly reworked its News Feed in ways that reduced organic reach for pages and later prioritized algorithmically recommended content over posts from friends. The platform experienced major privacy incidents, including the Cambridge Analytica data scandal and a 50-million-account security breach, leading to a record $5 billion FTC penalty. More recently, Meta introduced paid verification, an EU pay-or-consent ad-free subscription that regulators found non-compliant with the Digital Markets Act, and ended programs such as the News tab and third-party fact-checking.
First symptom
Jan 2018
Symptoms on file
10
Categories
5
Prognosis
Severe
3 privacy · 3 quality · 2 pricing · 1 ads · 1 features
Alternatives
The Paper Trail
| Date | Category | Symptom · rating · source |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-01 | quality | News Feed overhaul deprioritizes publisher and page contentFacebook announced a News Feed change prioritizing 'meaningful interactions' between friends and family while reducing distribution of content from publishers, brands, and pages. Publisher traffic from Facebook declined measurably in the following months.↳ Nieman Lab |
| 2018-04 | privacy | Cambridge Analytica data misuse affected 87 million usersFacebook disclosed that data from as many as 87 million users may have been improperly obtained by Cambridge Analytica via a third-party quiz app that harvested data from users and their friends. The scandal became public in March 2018 through whistleblower Christopher Wylie.↳ NPR |
| 2018-09 | privacy | Security breach exposed 50 million account access tokensFacebook disclosed that attackers exploited bugs in its 'View As' feature to steal access tokens for nearly 50 million accounts, allowing account takeover. About 90 million users were logged out as a precaution.↳ TechCrunch |
| 2019-07 | privacy | FTC imposes record $5 billion privacy penaltyThe FTC fined Facebook $5 billion for violating its 2012 privacy order by deceiving users about their ability to control personal data. It was the largest privacy penalty ever imposed by the agency at the time.↳ Federal Trade Commission |
| 2022-07 | quality | Feed redesign emphasizes recommended content over friendsFacebook split its app into a default Home tab driven by algorithmic recommendations of unconnected content, modeled as a TikTok-style 'discovery engine,' moving chronological posts from friends, groups, and pages into a separate Feeds tab.↳ CNN |
| 2023-02 | pricing | Meta Verified paid verification subscription launchesMeta announced Meta Verified, a subscription starting at $11.99 per month on web and $14.99 on iOS that provides a verification badge, impersonation protection, increased visibility in search and recommendations, and access to customer support.↳ NPR |
| 2023-10 | pricing | EU users offered pay-or-consent ad-free subscriptionMeta announced that users in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland must either consent to personalized advertising or pay from 9.99 euros per month for ad-free Facebook and Instagram, citing compliance with European court rulings on ad consent.↳ TechCrunch |
| 2024-03 | features | Facebook removes News tab in US and AustraliaMeta announced it would deprecate the dedicated Facebook News tab in the United States and Australia in April 2024 and stop paying publishers for news content, after earlier removing the tab in the UK, France, and Germany.↳ CNBC |
| 2024-07 | ads | EU finds pay-or-consent model breaches DMAThe European Commission issued preliminary findings that Meta's pay-or-consent advertising model fails to comply with the Digital Markets Act because it forces users to consent to data combination or pay, without offering a less personalized equivalent service.↳ TechCrunch |
| 2025-01 | quality | Meta ends third-party fact-checking programMark Zuckerberg announced Meta would end its eight-year third-party fact-checking program in the US on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, replacing it with a user-generated Community Notes system similar to X's.↳ NPR |
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<a href="https://enshittification.xyz/facebook"><img src="https://enshittification.xyz/badge/facebook.svg" alt="Facebook on the Enshittification Index"></a>The Enshittification Index · 42 case files · no source, no entry · updated Jun 2026
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