Facebook to hire 10,000 in EU to work on metaverse
Facebook is planning to hire 10,000 people in the European
Union to develop a so-called metaverse.
A metaverse is an online world where people can game, work
and communicate in a virtual environment, often using VR headsets.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been a leading voice on the
concept.
The announcement comes as Facebook deals with the fallout of
a damaging scandal and faces increased calls for regulation to curb its
influence.
What is the metaverse?
"The metaverse has the potential to help unlock access
to new creative, social, and economic opportunities. And Europeans will be
shaping it right from the start," Facebook said in a blog post.
The new jobs being created over the next five years will
include "highly specialised engineers".
Investing in the EU offered many advantages, including
access to a large consumer market, first-class universities and high-quality
talent, Facebook said.
Facebook has made building the metaverse one of its big
priorities.
Despite its history of buying up rivals, Facebook claims the
metaverse "won't be built overnight by a single company" and has
promised to collaborate.
It recently invested $50m (£36.3m) in funding non-profit
groups to help "build the metaverse responsibly".
Some critics say this latest announcement is designed to
re-establish the company's reputation and divert attention, after a series of
damaging scandals in recent months.
This included revelations from whistleblower Frances Haugen,
who worked as a product manager on the civic integrity team at Facebook.
Internal research by Facebook found that Instagram, which it
owns, was affecting the mental health of teenagers. But Facebook did not share
its findings when they suggested that the platform was a "toxic"
place for many youngsters.
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