--- description: A controversial memo written by a top Facebook insider is causing a ruckus inside and outside the company. title: Mark Zuckerberg Defends Facebook After a Controversial Memo Called for Growth At All Costs image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte165e9a7a9cbd3c2/69892b8e8fd2ee64e035b193/mark-zuckerberg-campbridge-analytica-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mark Zuckerberg Defends Facebook After a Controversial Memo Called for Growth At All Costs by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 30, 2018 2:58 PM CUT  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the keynote address at Facebook's F8 Developer Conference on April 18, 2017 at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. The conference will explore Facebook's new technology initiatives and products. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the keynote address at Facebook's F8 Developer Conference on April 18, 2017 at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. The conference will explore Facebook's new technology initiatives and products.Photo by Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 30, 2018 2:58 PM CUT A controversial memo written by a top Facebook insider is causing a ruckus inside and outside the company as it continues to deal with the fallout from the [Cambridge Analytica scandal](http://time.com/5214935/facebook-cambridge-analytica-apology-ads/ "undefined") and its handling of [users’ personal information](http://time.com/5215274/facebook-messenger-android-call-text-message-data/ "undefined") more broadly. The memo, written by Facebook Vice President Andrew “Boz” Bosworth in 2016 and titled “The Ugly,” argues that Facebook’s goal should be connecting people even if it “costs a life by exposing someone to bullies” or “someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools.” The memo, originally viewable only to Facebook employees, was [obtained](https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanmac/growth-at-any-cost-top-facebook-executive-defended-data?bfsplash&utm%5Fterm=.gmNv6oeKz#.eeggDmkA3 "undefined") by BuzzFeed News. Facebook CEO [Mark Zuckerberg](http://time.com/money/5213181/mark-zuckerberg-lost-10-billion-in-one-week-after-facebooks-privacy-scandal/ "undefined") quickly responded to the memo’s publication, arguing its contents do not reflect the company’s true ethos. “We’ve never believed the ends justify the means,” Zuckerberg said [in a statement to BuzzFeed News](https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimdalrympleii/zuckerberg-says-he-disagrees-growth-memo?utm%5Fterm=.rcQx6oXRW#.ohyRX7Bw1 "undefined"). “We recognize that connecting people isn’t enough by itself. We also need to work to bring people closer together. We changed our whole mission and company focus to reflect this last year.” Zuckerberg also said the Bosworth is “a talented leader who says many provocative things,” and that the memo is something “that most people at Facebook including myself disagreed with strongly.” Bosworth himself walked back the memo, saying in a tweet that “I don’t agree with the post today and I didn’t agree with it even when I wrote it.” Instead, he characterized the note as an effort to surface “hard topics” for internal discussion among Facebook employees. > [](https://twitter.com/boztank/status/979478961582325760) Bosworth’s memo was first published one day after a Chicago man was [shot and killed](http://time.com/4746708/steve-stephens-facebook-killing/ "undefined") in an incident streamed on Facebook Live, the company’s livestreaming platform. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5222179/mark-zuckerberg-defends-facebook-after-a-controversial-memo-called-for-growth-at-all-costs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5222179/mark-zuckerberg-defends-facebook-after-a-controversial-memo-called-for-growth-at-all-costs/"},"headline":"Mark Zuckerberg Defends Facebook After a Controversial Memo Called for Growth At All Costs","datePublished":"2018-03-30T14:58:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:51:42.061Z","description":"'We've never believed the ends justify the means'","url":"https://time.com/5222179/mark-zuckerberg-defends-facebook-after-a-controversial-memo-called-for-growth-at-all-costs/","keywords":["Tech","Social Media","facebook","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte165e9a7a9cbd3c2/69892b8e8fd2ee64e035b193/mark-zuckerberg-campbridge-analytica-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Marie Segarra","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte165e9a7a9cbd3c2/69892b8e8fd2ee64e035b193/mark-zuckerberg-campbridge-analytica-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mark Zuckerberg Delivers Keynote Address At Facebook F8 Conference","caption":"Mark Zuckerberg Delivers Keynote Address At Facebook F8 Conference","creditText":"Photo by Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5222179/mark-zuckerberg-defends-facebook-after-a-controversial-memo-called-for-growth-at-all-costs/","name":"Mark Zuckerberg Defends Facebook After a Controversial Memo Called for Growth At All Costs"}}]}] ```