Chris Hughes, a co-founder of Facebook, said the government must hold the social networking giant accountable after a series of missteps and break it up. In an opinion piece published by The New York Times, Hughes said he feels "a sense of anger and responsibility" for Facebook's direction, which included a massive privacy scandal involving unauthorized access to user information by political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. Hughes also said the power of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is "unprecedented and un-American," citing his control of 60% of voting shares and his direct role in configuring News Feed algorithms or how users can maintain their privacy. "Mark is a good, kind person. But I’m angry that his focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks," wrote Hughes. "I’m disappointed in myself and the early Facebook team for not thinking more about how the News Feed algorithm could change our culture, influence elections and empower nationalist leaders. And I’m worried that Mark has surrounded himself with a team that reinforces his beliefs instead of challenging them." Tech Q&A:Upgrading Windows 7, Siri tricks, find out if someone blocked your number and more Social media suit:Facebook lawsuit claims Zuckerberg is liable in Cambridge Analytica scandal Hughes also said Facebook holds a monopoly over most of social media and the internet, between Facebook and platforms acquired by the company in recent years such as Instagram and WhatsApp. Hughes also criticized the Federal Trade Commission, saying the agency's "biggest mistake" was allowing Facebook to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp. "When it hasn’t acquired its way to dominance, Facebook has used its monopoly position to shut out competing companies or has copied their technology," he said. In a statement obtained by USA TODAY, Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs and communications, said a breakup is not the way to enforce Facebook to be accountable. "Accountability of tech companies can only be achieved through the painstaking introduction of new rules for the internet," said Clegg. "That is exactly what Mark Zuckerberg has called for. Indeed, he is meeting government leaders this week to further that work." Facebook has endured a tumultuous period since the 2016 presidential election, with many critics scrutinizing how it may have been manipulated by Russian meddling. Meanwhile, in 2018, Zuckerberg testified before Congress about how Facebook allowed the misuse of its data by Cambridge Analytica and whether the company deserves more government oversight. The FTC is also weighing whether to hold Zuckerberg and Facebook accountable for the string of privacy lapses, the Washington Post reported. In a statement, Facebook said they "hope to reach an appropriate and fair resolution." Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.<doc-sep>In this March 13, 2019, file photo Facebook, Messenger and Instagram apps are are displayed on an iPhone in New York. Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes says it time to break up the social media behemoth. He says in a New York Times opinion piece that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has allowed a relentless focus on growth that crushed competitors to sacrifice security and civility for clicks. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File) Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes says it’s time to break up the social media behemoth. In a New York Times opinion piece published Thursday, Hughes said CEO Mark Zuckerberg has turned Facebook into an innovation-suffocating monopoly. Hughes called Zuckerberg’s power “unprecedented and un-American” and said his co-founder’s focus on growth “led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks.” Hughes roomed with Zuckerberg at Harvard and left Facebook in 2007 to campaign for Barack Obama. Hughes said he no longer has any ownership in Facebook or any other social media company. READ MORE: Facebook expects to pay up to $5 billion for privacy breaches “I feel a sense of anger and responsibility,” he wrote, lamenting the company’s “slow response to Russian agents, violent rhetoric and fake news.” Facebook has been under fire for an ever-expanding list of privacy and security lapses and for endangering democracy by failing to effectively combat the proliferation of misinformation and hate speech by extremist groups . Facebook’s chief spokesman, Nick Clegg, responded to Hughes’ criticisms with a statement saying, “you don’t enforce accountability by calling for the breakup of a successful American company. Accountability of tech companies can only be achieved through the painstaking introduction of new rules for the internet. That is exactly what Mark Zuckerberg has called for.” Zuckerberg has been vague, however, on exactly what kind of regulation he favours. Critics including Hughes believe Facebook has acquired too much power to continue intact. Hughes’ call echoes a proposal by Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, who also wants to splinter Amazon and Google into separate companies. In the opinion piece, Hughes called Facebook a monopoly that should be forced to spin off WhatsApp and Instagram, with future acquisitions banned for several years. Hughes also called for a new federal agency to regulate tech companies whose “first mandate is to protect privacy.” Debate has begun on a federal privacy protection bill. California has a law that takes effect in January and European Union privacy rules are now a year old. Meanwhile, Facebook faces a fine of as much as $5 billion from the Federal Trade Commission over privacy violations. But critics say the amount is but a slap on the wrist for a company that had $55.8 billion in revenue last year. Hughes says he liquidated his Facebook shares in 2012, the year he became publisher of The New Republic. He said he does not invest in any social media companies. Last year, Hughes published a book advocating a universal basic income. In 2017, Forbes put his net worth at more than $400 million. The Associated Press Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter<doc-sep>On Thursday, Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes wrote a blistering op-ed in the New York Times slamming Mark Zuckerberg and calling for the social network to be split up. Hughes hasn't worked at Facebook since 2007, and cashed out his stake of $500 million or so in the company not long after the IPO in 2012. In his career, Hughes has worked for Barack Obama's first presidential campaign, led the New Republic magazine, and founded nonprofits. Here's what you need to know about Chris Hughes. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Facebook was launched by a group of Harvard students from a dorm room in 2004. One of those former students, Mark Zuckerberg, has become one of the richest and most prominent CEOs in the world — but also one of the most controversial, as Facebook has come under fire in a seemingly never-ending string of scandals. On Thursday, Chris Hughes, one of Facebook's other cofounders, became the latest to slam Zuckerberg in a blistering New York Times op-ed, calling for the social network to be broken up and asking for increased regulation over the tech industry. But who is Chris Hughes, this lesser-known Facebook cofounder? Hughes, 35, departed Facebook a decade ago with a small stake in the company. Although he hasn't quite achieved the notoriety of Zuckerberg, Hughes' career post-Facebook has included volunteering for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, a stint as editor of the magazine The New Republic, and pushing for Universal Basic Income (UBI) and other big social reforms. Here's the life of Chris Hughes, from Harvard student to cofounder to one of Facebook's biggest critics:<doc-sep>
UDPATE, with response Chris Hughes, a co-founder of Facebook, says the company has become a monopoly that should be broken up. In an opinion piece published today by The New York Times, Hughes, who liquidated his Facebook shares in 2012 and writes that he doesn’t “invest directly in any social media companies,” says his old partner, college classmate and current Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has amassed “unchecked power” that goes “far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government.” In response, Facebook’s Nick Clegg, VP of Global Affairs and Communications, released the following statement to the press: “Facebook accepts that with success comes accountability. But you don’t enforce accountability by calling for the breakup of a successful American company. Accountability of tech companies can only be achieved through the painstaking introduction of new rules for the internet. That is exactly what Mark Zuckerberg has called for. Indeed, he is meeting Government leaders this week to further that work.” Hughes, noting that he last saw Zuckerberg in the summer of 2017, writes in the Times, “Since then, Mark’s personal reputation and the reputation of Facebook have taken a nose-dive. The company’s mistakes — the sloppy privacy practices that dropped tens of millions of users’ data into a political consulting firm’s lap; the slow response to Russian agents, violent rhetoric and fake news; and the unbounded drive to capture ever more of our time and attention — dominate the headlines. It’s been 15 years since I co-founded Facebook at Harvard, and I haven’t worked at the company in a decade. But I feel a sense of anger and responsibility.” Hughes proposes that Facebook reverse – or be forced to do so – its acquisitions of Instagram and Whatsapp, and that the U.S. government create an agency to regulate tech companies like Facebook. “The F.T.C.’s biggest mistake was to allow Facebook to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp,” he writes. “In 2012, the newer platforms were nipping at Facebook’s heels because they had been built for the smartphone, where Facebook was still struggling to gain traction. Mark responded by buying them, and the F.T.C. approved.” Regarding Zuckerberg’s recent Washington Post opinion column calling for some regulation, Hughes dismisses the move as a way to prevent a more drastic outcome. “I don’t think these proposals were made in bad faith,” Hughes writes. “But I do think they’re an attempt to head off the argument that regulators need to go further and break up the company. Facebook isn’t afraid of a few more rules. It’s afraid of an antitrust case and of the kind of accountability that real government oversight would bring.” A co-chairman of the Economic Security Project and a senior adviser at the Roosevelt Institute, Hughes insists he has remained friends with Zuckerberg. He writes: “Mark is a good, kind person. But I’m angry that his focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks. I’m disappointed in myself and the early Facebook team for not thinking more about how the News Feed algorithm could change our culture, influence elections and empower nationalist leaders. And I’m worried that Mark has surrounded himself with a team that reinforces his beliefs instead of challenging them.”