Last week, Facebook announced a name change for the company that brings together all of its applications. It is now Meta Platforms. Many analysts interpreted the change as an attempt to leave behind the public image problems that Facebook has been facing due to its unauthorized use of user data. But there is more. Behind Meta is the metaverse, an ambitious project in development that seeks to use virtual reality and augmented reality to implement a new virtual universe where users don't just play games, but use avatars to travel to work, go shopping, have fun, or meet in virtual workrooms. "We believe the metaverse will be the successor to the mobile internet," said Mark Zuckerberg, founder and co-CEO of Facebook/Meta, in late October.

Learning from its lessons, while developing the metaverse, the company is investing US$50 million to fund the work of independent researchers around the world in areas such as security and privacy that allow users to ask for help if they see something in the metaverse that makes them feel uncomfortable.