How Facebook grew into trouble

Life-sized cutouts of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg are displayed by an advocacy group on Capitol Hill on April 10, 2018. | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

Started in 2004 as a project to connect Harvard students, Facebook now has 2.74 billion active users worldwide and owns three of the 10 most popular mobile apps — Facebook, Instagram and Facebook Messenger.

And, state and federal regulators allege, it has grown into a corporate threat that uses its power to scoop up rivals and strangle competition.

Here's how the social network has evolved:

Feb. 4, 2004

The landing page of Facebook when it debuted in 2004. | Thefacebook

June 2004

Entrepreneur Peter Thiel speaks in Cleveland in 2016. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

July 29, 2004

Founding President of Facebook and co-founder of Napster and Plaxo Sean Parker speaks during a panel discussion on Sept. 22, 2008. | Alex Wong/Getty Images

October 2005

Sept. 26, 2006

Jan. 10, 2007

Social networking site Facebook is displayed on a mobile phone. | Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

May 2007

March 2008

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, speaks on Dec. 2, 2011 in New York City. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images

February 2009

The WhatsApp messenger app is shown. | AP Photo

December 2009

February 2010

Oct. 1, 2010

Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg are pictured in a still from the film "The Social Network." | POLITICO Screengrab

Oct. 6, 2010

June 28, 2011

Vic Gundotra, Google Senior Vice President of Engineering, talks about Google Plus at the 2012 Google I/O conference in San Francisco. | Paul Sakuma/AP Photo

Aug. 9, 2011

Nov. 29, 2011

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, speaks during a town hall meeting on April 20, 2011 | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo

Apr. 3, 2012

April 9, 2012

An Instagram photo is shared with Facebook on an iPhone Monday, April 9, 2012. | Karly Domb Sadof/AP Photo

May 12, 2012

The Facebook logo appears on a display inside the NASDAQ Marketsite on May 17, 2012. | CX Matiash/AP Photo

Aug. 22, 2012

October 2012

Jan. 24, 2013

_{Zuckerberg commented on the National Security Agency's surveillance tactics during a 2013 interview.}

March 2013

Oct. 13, 2013

Fall 2013

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel poses for a photo in Los Angeles on Oct. 24, 2013. | Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

Feb. 19, 2014

March 13, 2014

March 25, 2014

Adriana Ojeda uses an Oculus headset at Facebook's F8 Developer Conference on April 18, 2017 in San Jose, Calif. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

April 10, 2014

April 28, 2015

Aug. 5, 2015

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on October 23, 2019. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mid-2016

Facebook executives approach the group video chatting network Houseparty about an acquisition and are rebuffed.

October 2016

Oct. 3, 2016

^{Sheryl Sandberg said in 2016 that Facebook does not think fake news "swayed the election."}

May 18, 2017

June 27, 2017

_{Zuckerberg in 2017 announced a series of policy changes and efforts to cooperate with the U.S. government to curb election interference.}

March 17, 2018

March 26, 2018

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives to testify before a joint hearing of the Commerce and Judiciary Committees on April 10, 2018. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo

April 10, 2018

October 2018

October 2018

Feb. 6, 2019

^{Zuckerberg addressed Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy on Oct. 17, 2019. He defended Facebook's "free expression."}

July 24, 2019

Facebook confirms the FTC is investigating the company over alleged antitrust violations.

Sept. 6, 2019

New York Attorney General Tish James speaks during a press conference in New York City. | Getty Images

Feb. 11, 2020

May 15, 2020

July 29, 2020

Dec. 9, 2020