Anaya Nolan
Mark Zuckerberg's Facemash was a website that allowed users to rank students according to their attractiveness. Zuckerberg was accused of breaching security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy. He was brought before Harvard's Administrative Board and chose to shut down the site.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Violating individual privacy | Yes |
| Breaching security | Yes |
| Violating copyrights | Yes |
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What You'll Learn
Violating individual privacy
Before Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg created Facemash, a website that allowed users to rank students according to their attractiveness. The site was hosted on Harvard's servers and used ID photos Zuckerberg had scraped from the university's online yearbook.
Zuckerberg was brought before Harvard's Administrative Board and accused of violating individual privacy, breaching security, and violating copyrights. He was also criticised for his use of ID photos and ranking students by their looks.
Zuckerberg chose to shut down Facemash, saying, "Issues about violating people's privacy don't seem to be surmountable. I'm not willing to risk insulting anyone."
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Breaching security
In 2003, Mark Zuckerberg was brought before Harvard's Administrative Board, accused of breaching security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy with Facemash. The charges were based on a complaint from the university's computer services department over his unauthorised use of online Facebook photographs.
Zuckerberg was accused of taking ID photos and ranking students according to their attractiveness. He chose to shut down the site because he didn't see a good way around the issues. "Issues about violating people's privacy don't seem to be surmountable," Zuckerberg told the Crimson about Facemash in an issue published in November 2003. "I'm not willing to risk insulting anyone," said a teenage Zuckerberg.
In 2018, Zuckerberg faced questions about Facemash before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He described Facemash as a "prank website" that he launched in college, in his dorm room, before he started Facebook.
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Violating copyrights
Mark Zuckerberg was accused of violating copyrights with Facemash, along with breaching security and violating individual privacy. The charges were based on a complaint from Harvard's computer services department over his unauthorised use of online Facebook photographs. The site was also criticised for its use of ID photos and ranking students according to attractiveness.
Zuckerberg chose to shut down the site because he didn't see a good way around the issues. "Issues about violating people's privacy don't seem to be surmountable," Zuckerberg told the Crimson about Facemash in an issue published in November 2003. "I'm not willing to risk insulting anyone," said a teenage Zuckerberg.
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Unauthorized use of online photographs
Before Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg created Facemash, a website that allowed users to rank students according to their attractiveness. The site was hosted on www.facemash.com and was created by Zuckerberg while he was a student at Harvard.
Zuckerberg was accused of breaching security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy by creating the website. The charges were based on a complaint from Harvard's computer services department over his unauthorized use of online photographs. Zuckerberg was brought before Harvard's Administrative Board, but he was not forced to withdraw or leave school. He did, however, take the site down, partly due to sharp criticism of the site's use of ID photos.
In a 2003 article in the Harvard Crimson, Zuckerberg said:
> Issues about violating people's privacy don't seem to be surmountable. I'm not willing to risk insulting anyone.
In 2018, Zuckerberg faced questions about Facemash from Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. When asked if Facemash was still running, Zuckerberg paused and smirked before responding:
> No, congressman. FaceMash was a prank website that I launched in college, in my dorm room, before I started Facebook.
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Insulting people
Facemash was a prank website created by Mark Zuckerberg in his dorm room at Harvard before he started Facebook. Zuckerberg was brought before Harvard's Administrative Board and accused of violating individual privacy, breaching security and violating copyrights with Facemash. The charges were based on a complaint from the computer services department over his unauthorised use of online Facebook photographs. Zuckerberg chose to shut down the site because he didn't see a good way around the issues. "Issues about violating people's privacy don't seem to be surmountable," Zuckerberg told the Crimson about Facemash in an issue published in November 2003. "I'm not willing to risk insulting anyone," said a teenage Zuckerberg.
The website allowed users to rank students according to attractiveness. This was done using ID photos that Zuckerberg had taken without permission. This unauthorised use of photos was a violation of individual privacy and a breach of security. It also infringed on copyrights held by the university.
Zuckerberg was not forced to withdraw from Harvard or leave school for any amount of time, but he declined to elaborate on whether the board took some lesser action. He said he was notified on November 3 that his case would appear before the Ad Board, the day after he decided to take the site down, partly due to sharp criticism of the site's use of ID photos and ranking system.
Zuckerberg has since faced questions about Facemash from members of Congress, who have struggled to address widespread concerns about how Facebook handles data and sows political turmoil across the world. This has triggered possible congressional regulation of the company.
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Frequently asked questions
Zuckerberg was accused of breaching security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy.
Facemash was a prank website Zuckerberg launched in college, in his dorm room, before he started Facebook.
Zuckerberg chose to shut down Facemash because he didn't see a good way around the issues. "Issues about violating people's privacy don't seem to be surmountable," he told the Crimson about Facemash in an issue published in November 2003.
