Media moguls can relax, a little, about the possibility of having to compete against Facebook. The social media giant is “a tech company, not a media company,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg told a student gathering today in Rome, where he visited with Pope Francis, Reuters reports.
“We build the tools, we do not produce any content,” Zuckerberg said at Luiss University. “The world needs news companies, but also technology platforms, like what we do, and we take our role in this very seriously.”
Many company watchers have wondered about Facebook’s intentions as it highlights news reports in users’ feeds and aims to attract more users with what Zuckerberg describes as a “video first” strategy.
That raises concerns that Facebook might offer original content to help it win ad dollars that currently go to TV. “Media investors should be concerned that Facebook has barely scratched the surface here,” MoffettNathanson Research’s Michael Nathanson said last month.
Zuckerberg gave Pope Frances a model of Facebook’s solar-powered Aquila drone that plans to offer internet service to remote parts of the globe. He also visited with Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
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