Facebook?s very bad year. No, really, it might be the worst yet

It's a now-perennial headline: Facebook has had a very bad year.

Years of mounting pressure from Congress and the public culminated in repeated PR crises, blockbuster whistleblower revelations and pending regulation over the past 12 months.

And while the company's bottom line has not yet wavered, 2022 is not looking to be any better than 2021 - with more potential privacy and antitrust actions on the horizon.

Here are some of the major battles Facebook has weathered in the past year.

Facebook's year started with allegations that a deadly insurrection on the US Capitol was largely planned on its platform. Regulatory uproar over the incident reverberated for months, leading lawmakers to call CEO Mark Zuckerberg before Congress to answer for his platform's role in the attack.

In the aftermath, Zuckerberg defended his decision not to take action against Donald Trump, though the former president stoked anger and separatist flames on his personal and campaign accounts. Facebook's inaction led to a rare public employee walkout and Zuckerberg later reversed the hands-off approach to Trump. Barring Trump from Facebook platforms sparked backlash once again - this time from Republican lawmakers alleging censorship.

What ensued was a months-long back-and-forth between Facebook and its independent oversight board, with each entity punting the decision of whether to keep Trump off the platform. Ultimately, Facebook decided to extend Trump's suspension to two years. Critics said this underscored the ineffectiveness of the body. "What is the point of the oversight board?" asked the Real Oversight Board, an activist group monitoring Facebook, after the non-verdict.