Silicon Valley played by a different set of rules. Facebook’s crisis could put an end to that

After years of runaway success and lax regulation, Facebook discovered this week that the world may have changed its mind about the social network - and possibly the tech industry at large, too. (Dreamstime)

Facebook was two years old when it introduced its most transformative feature: a news feed that offered users a running list of updates about their friends' love lives, favourite new bands and latest vacation photos. 

For the hundreds of thousands of people on the social network, the idea of broadcasting personal details without consent came as a shock. There was backlash on the platform and demands that Facebook provide a way to opt out.