• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026

3

Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026

3

Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026
Commentary

Commentary: How Can Facebook Avoid More Trouble Ahead? Implement User Warnings.

By
Joel Peterson
Joel Peterson
and
Bethany Cianciolo
Bethany Cianciolo
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Joel Peterson
Joel Peterson
and
Bethany Cianciolo
Bethany Cianciolo
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 27, 2018, 4:09 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Facebook (FB) investors and staff probably let out a collective sigh of relief on Thursday, after the social media giant reported stronger-than-expected earnings that sent shares rebounding back to near-record highs. But strong financial performance doesn’t mean that all is well for the social media giant.

In fact, Facebook has a larger long-term problem with user trust that isn’t showing up in its financials yet, and may well be expensive to fix.

Facebook was founded 14 years ago. It went public six years ago at a valuation of over $100 billion. Today, its market cap is almost $500 billion, apparently earning the “trust” of 2 billion people who use it every day in what has become a virtual utility in the fast-paced lives of its users.

So far, it has defied what Warren Buffett said about reputation building: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” The first quarter results show that Facebook has not lost trust with a bang. But, unless it completes the process of dealing with betrayal, it may find it leaking slowly away, like a tire losing air.

Sheryl Sandberg acknowledged on the conference call they did lose a handful of advertisers as the privacy concerns were raised, related to the unauthorized use of Facebook user data in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Costly, but necessary changes ahead

To stop the leak of trust, it’s going to require some expensive—and mandatory—work in the form of better security and privacy controls. Already, the social media giant has disclosed some of the higher costs associated with this effort, reporting in its latest 10-Q filing that it plans to increase operating expenses by 50% to 60% through the remainder of the year, driven largely by new investments in safety and security. On a conference call with analysts following the earnings release, executives admitted that this spending is being accelerated, tightening the company’s margins for the year.

And this comes alongside larger changes in Facebook’s business model, in which Mark Zuckerberg says he is steering the business away from optimizing to “time spent” by users and toward a new focus on connections over consumption.

While this is positioned as a counter to mental health concerns perennially raised about social media use, it also muddies the picture of whether Facebook is losing some of its edge with users. It’s not clear if, in fact, user engagement is falling off, because Facebook declined to provide those numbers.

I will say this: Zuckerberg and his team have honed their crisis-management skills well. In front of Congress earlier this month, he took responsibility, asked for forgiveness, and claimed that Facebook will do a better job of self-regulating, pledging to make clearer terms of service and opt-in/opt-out agreements.

Still, something doesn’t sound quite right in his mea culpas.

Perhaps it’s simply inauthenticity born of Zuckerberg’s brainy, robotic delivery. Maybe it’s the prior deceptive activity at the company, which resulted in a 2011 consent decree. Maybe it’s the modern era’s slick crisis-management platitudes from corporate and political advisors.

But, possibly, he’s merely solving for what I’d classify as pseudo-trust—a fake or superficial trust.

“Fake trust” at the heart of Facebook

There are three forms of trust.

Reciprocal trust is found in families, friendships, teams, and business partnerships with the same values and goals, mutually reliant on each other for success. Representative trust, on the other hand, is an uneven exchange that produces the results that allow society to function—such as between professionals and clients or employers and employees. But pseudo-trust is purely transactional, short term, and superficial—reliable only so far as interests are coincident. You may have felt a sense of pseudo-trust with politicians seeking your vote or salesmen promising results.

Facebook’s trust structure is codified in a user agreement that nobody reads, jeopardizing Facebook’s future as trust is violated. It has no chance of becoming reciprocal. And under the current system, little chance of being representative. In a word, users feel, well, used.

How can the company accomplish this change, especially with its billions of customers around the world?

If Mark Zuckerberg were to ask me what to do, I’d say there’s a final step to overcoming betrayal that goes beyond acknowledgement and apology. And that is fixing the problem.

Facebook can fix this

I recall a decade ago when an ice storm on the East Coast caused massive flight delays and cancellations. JetBlue (JBLU) was swamped with complaints about its communications and reservations technology that left passengers stranded in the terminal and on runways for hours. Our founder and CEO David Neeleman owned up publicly, taking responsibility and apologizing. In a cracking voice, he said was “humiliated and mortified.” Then, he produced a customer “Bill of Rights” that has since been copied by competitors.

In the Facebook case—with all due respect for having taken the first two vital steps to repair a betrayal—no one knows what action will be taken.

I would advise the gifted young founder to consider creating far more consumer-friendly terms of service agreements and ways to opt-in or out of various services. Make them shining examples for all other online services to follow. Set the standard.

 

Want to keep Washington at bay? Include warnings, not unlike those on drugs or cigarettes, about the dangers of using Facebook and social media so that users fully understand what they are getting into when they use the service.

Extreme? Yes. But if Facebook doesn’t come up with a plan for real change, the hissing that accompanies a leaking of trust may well continue. Eventually the company, like a flat tire, will no longer be able to realize the speed for which it was designed.

Joel Peterson is on the faculty at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and is the chairman of the Board of Overseers at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, as well as the chairman of the Board at JetBlue Airways. Peterson is also the Founding Partner and chairman of Peterson Partners.

About the Authors
By Joel Peterson
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Bethany Cianciolo
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Commentary

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Commentary

brett
CommentaryManagement
Middle managers aren’t going extinct—they’re evolving into something more powerful
By Brett HurtJune 23, 2026
3 hours ago
ravi
CommentaryAI agents
Yale School of Management: surveillance pricing is just the beginning. AI agents will be the real test of corporate trust
By Ravi Dhar and Jon IwataJune 23, 2026
4 hours ago
elon
CommentaryElon Musk
Elon Musk’s trillion dollars aren’t real — and that’s the point
By Douglas P. McCormickJune 23, 2026
4 hours ago
gen z
CommentaryCareers
Gen Z: if you want to succeed at work, you need to start friction-maxxing
By Michelle SobelJune 23, 2026
5 hours ago
rp
CommentaryLaw
Cooley CEO: Big Law won’t survive if it treats AI as just an efficiency tool
By Rachel ProffittJune 23, 2026
5 hours ago
gg
CommentaryWorld Cup
CPJ: press freedom must endure the American World Cup
By Gypsy Guillén KaiserJune 23, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeJune 21, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 22, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 22, 2026
1 day ago
The Fed is fed up with inflation and will bring down the hammer with a series of rate hikes this year, reversing earlier cuts, BofA says
Economy
The Fed is fed up with inflation and will bring down the hammer with a series of rate hikes this year, reversing earlier cuts, BofA says
By Jason MaJune 22, 2026
24 hours ago
By 7 a.m., Bank of America’s CEO has already read 5 newspapers, his email inbox, and hit the gym—he says if you’re late to meetings, you’re ‘selfish’
Success
By 7 a.m., Bank of America’s CEO has already read 5 newspapers, his email inbox, and hit the gym—he says if you’re late to meetings, you’re ‘selfish’
By Preston ForeJune 22, 2026
1 day ago
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
Banking
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
By Jim EdwardsJune 23, 2026
6 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.