FACEBOOK HAS UNVEILED a new logo to represent the global US company, which owns the giant social media platform as well as a range of other apps. 

The new logo will be found on some Facebook products, such as Instagram – but it will be not mean a complete re-brand of the Facebook app itself. 

The move aims to highlight the Facebook “brand” which operates a range of apps and services including messaging, photo-sharing, virtual reality and is developing wallets for digital currency.

The new branding, basically the company name in crisp lettering, will be stamped on its “family” of offerings including WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Oculus, Workplace, Portal and Calibra, according to chief marketing officer Antonio Lucio.

“Today, we’re updating our company branding to be clearer about the products that come from Facebook,” Lucio said.

“We’re introducing a new company logo and further distinguishing the Facebook company from the Facebook app, which will keep its own branding.”

The new corporate logo “is a way to better communicate our ownership structure to the people and businesses who use our services to connect”, Lucio added.

The move comes with Facebook under intense scrutiny from regulators around the world, as the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal continues and questions remain over how the company deals with misinformation ahead of upcoming elections in the UK and the US. 

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Reaction

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running to be the Democrat nominee for President, reacted to the redesign last night. 

Warren, who has long advocated for Facebook and other large technology companies to be broken up, wrote on Twitter: “Facebook can rebrand all they want but they can’t hide the fact that they are too big and powerful.”

There was also plenty of mockery – many commentators questioned both the reasons behind the rebrand and the design choice itself. 

US actor and former Star Trek star George Takei, who has amassed a large following on Twitter, captured much of the response, tweeting: “Facebook is now using ALL CAPS like Trump and your second cousin Mildred.”

With reporting from Dominic McGrath