Ryan ChartrandThe lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, and the future of the social networking site are still pending.
The plaintiffs, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra, claim that Zuckerberg stole their business plan, design and source code when he briefly worked for them in 2003. They are demanding the site be shut down, and that full control of the site be handed over.
“Regardless of what Zuckerberg did it shouldn’t be shut down, it should just switch hands,” said communication studies senior Ashley Brum.
The site has grown substantially since it was founded in February 2004. Presently there are approximately 43 million active users, who are users who have returned to the site within the last 30 days.
Facebook recently opened its networking site to anyone who has an active e-mail account. Since January 2007 there have been approximately 200,000 new registrations on the Web site per day.
“Facebook is good for our club,” said industrial engineering senior and ski club member Erik Marvik. “We use it for promotion and our group has over 1,000 members. Not being able to connect with over 1,000 people through the site would be huge.”
The controversy began more than three years ago when the Winklevoss brothers and Narendra brought a lawsuit against Zuckerberg. He allegedly worked for them as a programmer on a project in the Harvard dorms called HarvardConnect.com.
The goal of the project was to connect with other Harvard students and alumni. The Web site has since expanded and been renamed ConnectU.com.
The court is in the process of determining whether or not there were any written agreements or payment for the code that was allegedly stolen. There has been substantial media coverage surrounding the lawsuit because of its worth, which is estimated to be somewhere between one billion and eight billion dollars, not to mention its increased popularity over the past few years.
“It would be so sad if Facebook were shut down because it’s a way to connect with friends from home and friends and other students on campus,” said business junior Chandra Wengler.
Though the majority of students felt that Facebook was a good social networking site to use to stay connected, some pointed out the advantages that they would gain if the Web site were shut down.
“If Facebook shuts down it will force us to do our homework and spend less time on the Internet,” said liberal studies sophomore Susannah Bower.
Support groups created by concerned users have been surfacing on the Web site over the past few months.
The groups have been recruiting members and posting bulletins to keep users informed and explain the legal situation surrounding Facebook, trying to recruit support to ensure that it continues operating.
“It’s the only healthy college addiction,” said child development sophomore Manya Ruhl.